By MOZTIMES
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – President Daniel Chapo on Thursday appointed Rear Admiral Bernardo Estevão Nchokomala as Commander of the Navy, according to a statement from Chapo’s office.
Prior to his appointment, Bernardo Estevão Nchokomala was promoted from the rank of Commodore to his current rank of Rear Admiral. He replaces Eugénio Dias da Silva Muataca, who had held the post for 10 years, having first been appointed in 2016 and reappointed in 2021, during the presidency of Filipe Nyusi.
The Mozambican Navy has increasingly been called upon to play a more active role in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado, particularly in recent months, as insurgents have stepped up operations in the maritime domain, carrying out attacks on islands close to the coast as well as on coastal villages, landing by sea using fishing vessels.
Before appointing the new Navy commander, Daniel Chapo consulted and obtained a favourable opinion from the National Defence and Security Council at an ordinary meeting held on Wednesday this week in Maputo.
At the same meeting, the advisory body to the Head of State on defence and security matters expressed satisfaction with the performance of government forces in combating terrorism in northern Mozambique, noting that there had been a “progressive improvement in the security of the population, reflected in the expulsion of terrorists from Nampula province, as well as in the limitation of their criminal activities in Cabo Delgado province”. (MT)
