Mozambique: Two Court Battles Challenge Frelimo Attempts to Channel Foreign Trade Through Party Oligarchs

What the report says

Two long-established companies are challenging Mozambican government actions in separate legal disputes that, according to Mozambique News Reports And Clippings, are tied to efforts by the ruling Frelimo party to steer foreign trade through party-connected business interests. The report says both cases involve moves the companies view as unlawful, and that the latest developments in each occurred on 22 October.

One dispute involves Export Trading Group (ETG), which filed a $120 million international arbitration claim in October 2024 over the seizure of 40,000 tonnes of pigeon peas, maize and rice. The goods were taken under a Nacala court ruling later linked to corruption and subsequently dismissed. ETG also met President Daniel Chapo on 22 October and proposed a $2 billion fertiliser factory using Mozambican gas, but the company appears to be conditioning that investment on stronger assurances that similar seizures will not recur.

The second case centers on grain importer Companhia Industrial da Matola (CIM) and the state agency Instituto de Cereais de Moçambique (ICM). CIM has challenged ICM’s monopoly over grain imports in the administrative court, arguing that officials raised import charges without legal authority. In response, ICM suspended CIM, seized large quantities of wheat and rice, and later instructed banks to keep restricting CIM-linked transactions, which the report says has frozen many of the company’s accounts.

The article places both disputes in the broader context of Mozambique’s procurement and trade system, where business decisions have often overlapped with political influence. It says the Chapo administration has promised tighter control and more transparency, but critics argue the new import rules still lack a firm legal basis.