A commission made up of members of the Ministries of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs (MJACR), the Interior and Foreign Affairs and Cooperation confirmed the sale of Mozambican nationality to three Turkish citizens by officials from the National Directorate of Civil Identification (DNIC).

It should be remembered that this case of fraudulently granting Mozambican nationality to foreign citizens was triggered in December last year by the Center for Public Integrity (CIP). In its complaint, the CIP said that the illicit business also involved lawyers and jurists. The prices ranged from 40,000 to 150,000 meticais. Read more...

According to the Permanent Secretary of the MJACR, Justino Tonela, the existence of false birth transcripts issued in 2013 and the authenticity of false nationality certificates issued in 2020 have been confirmed

"These documents have case numbers that are in progress at the central registry office in Maputo city," he said, explaining that during the investigation, the inter-ministerial commission found disparities between the records and the case numbers "that refer to other citizens".

The ministries want disciplinary proceedings to be opened against the agents involved in the cases. "It also recommends that the final report be sent to the Central Office for Combating Corruption," as well as clarifying the legal regulations on the attribution of Mozambican nationality.

The CIP believes that the work carried out so far by the three ministries has not been at all satisfactory, and expresses its expectation that those involved will be held criminally responsible.

"We expect criminal accountability. The state is one. The Ministry of Justice has done its administrative work. And now we expect the Public Prosecutor's Office and other entities responsible for investigation and criminal accountability to continue their work," said Borges Nhamire, a CIP researcher.