Intelligence Brief | Mozambican Spy Agency SISE Gets New Chief, ex-Minister José Pacheco
Ujasusi Blog’s Southern Africa Team | 🗓️18 June 2025 | 🕜 0200 BST
🔎 BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)
Mozambican President Daniel Chapo’s appointment of José Pacheco—a seasoned statesman with a controversial legacy—as Director-General of Mozambique’s State Security and Intelligence Service (SISE) signals a potentially strategic shift in national security posture amid growing jihadist threats in Cabo Delgado. However, the shadow of the 2013–2014 “hidden debts” scandal still hangs over SISE, threatening to undermine the institution's credibility and Pacheco’s reform prospects. This leadership reshuffle—combined with key appointments to the Council of State and the Defence and Security Council—may mark the beginning of Chapo’s assertive consolidation of power within Mozambique’s ruling elite, FRELIMO.