EMOSE, sensitive to policy profits and insensitive to human lives and deaths?

Paulo Vilanculo "

This article critically analyses the behaviour of Emose in light of its financial growth, which contrasts with the stagnation of the compensation process for the tragic accident involving the land transport company Nhancale, which claimed dozens of human lives in a spectacular accident in Maluana, Manhiça district, in 2021. The responsibility for compensating the families of the victims fell on the insurer Emose, according to a court ruling, and four years later, the promises remain unfulfilled, raising serious suspicions of silencing the process and an attitude of indifference on the part of that insurer. Paradoxically, in the following months, Emose joined the stock exchange as a synonym for considerable profits and is currently showing interest in investing in shares in LAM, completely ignoring its moral and legal debt to the victims. On the evening of Saturday, July 3, 2021, Mozambique was shocked by the sad news of a traffic accident in Maluana, Manhiça District, Maputo Province. The bus that had left the city of Beira collided with two trucks, lost control and resulted in the death of 32 people, many of whom were the caregivers of families, young students and workers traveling between provinces. Emose was subsequently indicted as being responsible for the insurance coverage of the carrier at the time. The Manhiça Court ruled and ordered Emose to pay compensation to the victims' families. Four years later, the compensation remains only a promise and has not yet been paid.andhere none of the families received any compensation. According to some family members, in recent comments to the media, Emose appealed the ruling, claiming that, at the time of the accident, the transport company Nhancale was no longer an active client. This argument is controversial and contradictory since, based on the facts, it is assumed that the Court ruled unequivocally and based on active insurance coverage. For the victims' families, there are signs that the process was wrapped up in bureaucratic legal maneuvers, with the smell of suspicions of silencing. Now, Emose is a public insurance company, with a majority stake held by the State, through the Institute for the Management of State Shareholdings (IGEPE). “When an insurance company like Emose resorts to avoiding compensating grieving families, it is not only defending itself legally, it is denying social pain, the memory of the victims and justice as a value” (Anonymous, 2025). This means that Emose’s behavior is not only the responsibility of a public or private entity, but directly involves the Mozambican State, as a shareholder, supervisor and guarantor of public policies for justice and social reparation. The Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Justice and IGEPE itself, all directly or indirectly linked to the case, have not made public any update on the (non)compliance with the sentence or the measures taken to pressure Emose. The State's actions in this process have been marked by a deafening silence that demonstrates insensitivity. It is important to ask: what kind of institutions allow the death of dozens of innocent people to be treated coldly at the height of an insurance company's financial situation? The lack of public pressure from the responsible ministries or IGEPE can be seen as a deliberate attempt to protect Emose, even at the expense of the memory and dignity of the victims of the Maluana tragedy. The glaring paradox is that the same Emose that promises to insure citizens, which at the same time leaves entire families at the mercy of mourning, claiming to have no funds or obligation to compensate the dead of Maluana, has registered significant growth in recent years, leveraged by state and corporate policies, has started to appear on the stock exchange and is now positioning itself as a strategic investor with intentions of acquiring shares in Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique. While families live in mourning and abandonment, Emose flourishes in the financial market (…). It is imperative that the authorities resume this process and that Parliament demands public clarifications from Emose.

2025/12/3