Maputo The Mozambican police have arrested a man who attempted to extort money from government officials by pretending to be a provincial governor.
The man, 33 year old Daniel Armando, impersonated the newly elected governor of Manica province, Francisca Tomas. He sent out messages in her name to district administrators, district permanent secretaries, and other provincial officials, promising that they would keep their jobs in the new framework of decentralised provincial administration, but only if they sent him money.
He tried the same thing in Inhambane province, where he passed himself off as provincial governor Daniel Chapo.
He said he used the government Internet portal to obtain the addresses and phone numbers of the district administrators and other potential victims.
According to a report in Friday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, many of the people whom he contacted recognised this was a scam but not all of them. One district administrator (whom “Noticias” did not name) sent the imposter 5,000 meticais (about 76 US dollars).
Armando expressed regret for the crimes he had committed, but said it was the method he had found to obtain money to feed his family.
The National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) detained Armando in Maputo, but he has now been taken back to the Manica provincial capital, Chimoio, where he committed most of his crimes.
Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique