Carlos Cardoso
Encyclopedia
Carlos Cardoso was a Mozambican
journalist. His murder in 2000 followed his newspaper's investigation into corruption in the privatisation of Mozambique's biggest bank.
Portuguese
immigrants to colonial Mozambique, where his father ran a dairy processing plant. He was educated in Mozambique and at high school in South Africa
, where he went on to attend the University of the Witwatersrand
. He spoke Portuguese
and second languages Ndau
and English
.
who remained in the country. He worked first in junior positions in government media and, from 1980, as editor of AIM, the government press agency. Following a brief spell of imprisonment, Cardoso also worked as an advisor to Samora Machel
, but quit AIM in 1989 to work first as an artist, and later as founder of Mediacoop, an independent press co-operative. In 1989 he met his wife Nina Berg, a Norwegian
lawyer, they had two children together, Ibo their son, and Milena their daughter.
city council in 1998. Metical ceased publication in December 2001.
, the son of Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano
, paying Cardoso's murderer by cheque. Anibal dos Santos
, a Portuguese citizen who was said to have masterminded Cardoso's murder, was convicted in absentia in 2003 after escaping from prison; and a retrial in 2006 (following dos Santos' second escape) upheld his sentence of 30 years in prison.
Nyimpine Chissano was charged with "joint moral authorship" of Cardoso's murder, and various economic crimes by the Mozambican Public Prosecutor's office in May 2006. The Mozambique News Agency AIM reported on 11 May 2006 an anonymous claim that an arrest warrant for Chissano had been rescinded following the intervention of former president Chissano and his wife.
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
journalist. His murder in 2000 followed his newspaper's investigation into corruption in the privatisation of Mozambique's biggest bank.
Early life
Cardoso was born in Beira, the son of whiteWhite African
White Africans are people of European descent living in Africa, who identify themselves as White....
Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
immigrants to colonial Mozambique, where his father ran a dairy processing plant. He was educated in Mozambique and at high school in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where he went on to attend the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
. He spoke Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and second languages Ndau
Ndau language
Ndau is one of the Shona dialects. It is spoken by people from the region of Chipinge...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Mozambican independence
After the withdrawal of the Portuguese colonial administration from Mozambique in 1974 following the seizure of power by the FRELIMO liberation movement, Cardoso was among the minority of white MozambicansPortuguese Mozambicans
Portuguese Mozambicans are Mozambican-born descendants of Portuguese settlers.-History:Portuguese explorers turned to present-day Mozambique and two other PALOP nations to bring black slaves to Portugal before bringing them to work for their plantations in their Latin American province, the...
who remained in the country. He worked first in junior positions in government media and, from 1980, as editor of AIM, the government press agency. Following a brief spell of imprisonment, Cardoso also worked as an advisor to Samora Machel
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
, but quit AIM in 1989 to work first as an artist, and later as founder of Mediacoop, an independent press co-operative. In 1989 he met his wife Nina Berg, a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
lawyer, they had two children together, Ibo their son, and Milena their daughter.
Newspaper editor and local politician
In 1997 Cardoso founded the business daily news-sheet Metical, and was elected to the MaputoMaputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
city council in 1998. Metical ceased publication in December 2001.
Murder and investigation
Cardoso was shot dead in central Maputo on 22 November 2000, while investigating a US$14 million fraud connected with the privatisation of Mozambique's largest bank, Banco Comercial de Moçambique. In the 2002 trial of six murder suspects, three suspects described Nyimpine ChissanoNyimpine Chissano
Nyimpine Chissano was the eldest son of former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano. A Maputo-based businessman, he had been linked to two high-profile murders in Mozambique, both of which are widely reported to have occurred because of their victims' anti-corruption activities.-Carlos...
, the son of Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano
Joaquim Chissano
Joaquim Alberto Chissano served as the second President of Mozambique for nineteen years from 6 November 1986 until 2 February 2005. Since stepping down as president, Chissano has become an elder statesman and is called upon by international bodies, such as the United Nations, to be an envoy or...
, paying Cardoso's murderer by cheque. Anibal dos Santos
Anibal dos Santos
Anibal António "Anibalzinho" dos Santos Junior is a Portuguese criminal convicted of masterminding the November 22, 2000, murder of Carlos Cardoso, a journalist investigating bank fraud in Mozambique's Central Bank...
, a Portuguese citizen who was said to have masterminded Cardoso's murder, was convicted in absentia in 2003 after escaping from prison; and a retrial in 2006 (following dos Santos' second escape) upheld his sentence of 30 years in prison.
Nyimpine Chissano was charged with "joint moral authorship" of Cardoso's murder, and various economic crimes by the Mozambican Public Prosecutor's office in May 2006. The Mozambique News Agency AIM reported on 11 May 2006 an anonymous claim that an arrest warrant for Chissano had been rescinded following the intervention of former president Chissano and his wife.