In late March a former minister of the interior, Almerino Manhenje, was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of financial impropriety committed during his period in office (1996-2005). Although the list of charges against him had been reduced by the supreme court on appeal, Mr Manhenje was convicted of various offences relating to the unauthorised use of public money, often for the benefit of himself and his family. The former minister refused to answer questions during his trial, which took place in December, on the grounds of "national security". After the sentence was announced Mr Manhenje's lawyer stated his intention to appeal against the verdict. A former director and a deputy director in the Ministry of Finances, Rosario Fidelis and Alvaro de Carvalho respectively, were also convicted of related offences and given the same jail term. Furthermore, following related official investigations, a local newspaper, Noticias, reported on March 10th that 13 police generals had been charged with the theft of state funds.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, the chairman of the constitutional council, Luis Mondlane, who is in effect the country's most senior judge, resigned on March 17th after local media reports alleged that he had misused council funds to make mortgage payments on a house he owns and finance other personal expenses. While this matter was under investigation by the council, Mr Mondlane faced fresh accusations in late March. The remaining members of the council accused him of abuse of process for having sent a letter on March 22nd to the Ministry of Finances requesting documents about the council's financial affairs, which he signed as chairman of the council despite having resigned his post five days earlier. The council announced that its former chairman could face criminal proceedings for this alleged act of "impersonation".