– President Daniel Chapo demands that SISE focus on combating subversion, terrorism, and transnational organised crime
By Noémia Mendes
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – President Daniel Chapo on Tuesday appointed José Pacheco as Director-General of the State Intelligence and Security Service (SISE), seven months after the previous intelligence chief died in a car accident. The new intelligence chief was sworn in on Wednesday in Maputo, with the Head of State instructing him to focus on tackling political subversion, terrorism and transnational organised crime.
Pacheco is a seasoned statesman who has held several ministerial posts, including Minister of the Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Agriculture, as well as Governor of various provinces.
Originally from Sofala province, the same as President Daniel Chapo, Pacheco now takes over the leadership of the country’s central intelligence agency, becoming one of the key figures advising the Head of State on internal and external security matters.
“Organised crime is one of the State’s greatest concerns. To achieve its goals, it infiltrates key State institutions and operates from within,” declared President Daniel Chapo after swearing in the new intelligence chief.
Chapo referred to well-known cases of the illegal issuance of national identity documents, such as birth certificates, ID cards, and passports, to foreign nationals, stressing that SISE must tackle this practice.
The President also spoke of “the financing of anti-democratic organisations, subversion, manipulation of the population, and the buying of minds to create chaos and social disorder”, a statement that may be interpreted as a warning to civil society organisations and opposition parties.
On the issue of terrorism in Cabo Delgado, the Head of State instructed the new head of the central intelligence agency to “clearly identify, with concrete evidence, the masterminds, leaders, sources of funding, leadership structures, objectives, motivations, operatives, and both their internal and external connections.” (NM)
(Text updated at 15:30 with Daniel Chapo’s speech)
