The biggest corruption scandal in Mozambique’s history happened before Filipe Nyusi became president. Nonetheless, he benefited. The “tuna bond” scandal, a scam concocted by Swiss bankers, ruling elites and a handful of dubious middlemen, diverted billions of dollars intended for development into the pockets of individuals.
Bribed Mozambican individuals got at least $200 million from it. Nyusi’s cut was around $1 million, which he received as “campaign donations”, according to court documents in both the UK and US. Some of the officials have been, and will be, tried.
But lawyers argued that presidential immunity protected Nyusi from prosecution for the scam, which left Mozambique’s exchequer crushed under the weight of crippling debt and has stunted the country’s economic growth. The sheer brazenness of the corruption displayed in the “tuna bond” scandal cemented public perceptions that Frelimo, the country’s liberation party, was deeply and possibly irredeemably corrupt. Those sentiments are playing a major role in ongoing anti-government protests — sparked by allegations of a stolen election — which have been repressed with deadly force by Nyusi’s security forces.
Into South Africa’s laundromat A million dollars of unknown provenance is nice but brings its own problems — where to store all that money and how to make it look legitimate. The Mozambican elites found a solution in South Africa. Shortly after Nyusi got those “campaign donations�.