By Jaime Munjovo
Bilene (MOZTIMES) - A government official working inside the Civil Registry office at Bilene, in Mozambique’s Gaza Province, has blown the whistle on what he says is a criminal network inside his agency. His corrupt colleagues, he says, work with officials from the Serviço Nacional de Identificação Civil (SNIC) to issue falsified birth certificates and, eventually, identity documents to foreigners in exchange for bribes.
The Civil Registry in Mozambique holds records of births going back decades and is empowered to issue birth certificates. The Serviço Nacional de Identificação Civil issues identity documents downstream - a process which is usually dependent on applicants being able to present a birth certificate.
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The allegations build on existing knowledge of fraudulent identity issuances in Mozambique. In 2023 a report by the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), a leading anti-corruption organisation in the country, found that forged birth certificates and nationality documents could be easily obtained. It found that corrupt officials, along with intermediaries such as lawyers and jurists, participated in the scheme. In 2024, a joint commission of inquiry by the country’s Justice, Interior and Foreign Ministries confirmed that three Turkish citizens were illegally granted Mozambican nationality.
People who obtain Mozambican identity documents illegally may benefit in a number of ways – from accessing government services and rights available to citizens, to obtaining passports which may allow for international travel.
In a previous investigation published by Chokwices, this journalist reported testimony from people who said they had to pay bribes of up to 5,000 meticais to officials of SNIC to obtain national identity cards. For many in the Bilene area the payment of bribes have become a necessity for access to identity documents, to which they are legally entitled.
That investigation also highlighted concerns over fraudulent issuances of identity documents to foreigners. But, at the time, it remained unclear how fraudulent applicants had obtained the documents – such as birth certificates – needed for identity card applications to the SNIC.
It was this knowledge gap that the Civil Registry official said he could help fill. He spoke on condition of anonymity, because he is not allowed to engage the media and he furthermore did not want to expose himself to what he described as a criminal network. Yet, he was willing to provide access to documents which he said illustrated the fraud with reference to one case study.
One registry entry, two identities
In January 2026, the official provided this journalist with a copy of a birth certificate which he said was fraudulently issued to man in November 2024. It showed a birth date as 14 December 1993. But, parental details were blank - unusual for this type of Mozambican birth certificate.
The certificate referenced an entry in the civil registry, identifiable by registry entry number, book number and year. The official allowed this reporter to consult the entry - entry 13 of book number 1 for the year 1993 - at the Civil Registry and Notary Office in Bilene, in Gaza Province. The entry was handwritten and it appeared to be intact and unaltered. It was for a female citizen, not a male as was indicated on the allegedly fraudulent birth certificate.
The official said that he himself noticed the discrepancy when an online system prompted him to rectify it, when the details of the birth certificate were entered.
Documents reviewed by this journalist show that the birth certificate referencing the registry entry was subsequently used to apply for a national identity card.
It is not clear from the documents reviewed whether the identity card was ultimately issued.
During an interview, the Civil Registry official explained how birth certificates are issued. He said that his colleagues who have easy access to original registry books and archived records can use these to populate new birth certificates, in the names of people different from the ones reflected in the books.
He said that this creates the possibility for individuals to obtain identity documents that appear officially valid but may not correspond to the original registry information.
The official also mentioned that intermediaries sometimes approach registry offices claiming they can facilitate documentation processes, although the technician did not directly confirm involvement of specific officials in illegal activities.
Right of reply
In January, this journalist submitted a request for clarification to the Civil Registry Office of Bilene. It requested, under Mozambique’s access to information law, that the registry verify the authenticity of the allegedly fraudulent birth certificate.
In response, the Civil Registry confirmed via email that the birth date in the registry differed from the birth date that was reflected on the suspectedly fraudulent certificate that referenced that entry.
The request was accompanied by queries about the procedures to ensure that certificates are legally issued. The request also asked what measures are in place to prevent corruption and fraudulent issuances of birth certificates.
Those queries were not responded to. (JM)
