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The Defections of 1982:
Jorge Manuel Antunes da Costa
and João da Silva Ataíde
Dossier MZ-0123
On 7 June 1982, a senior Mozambican security official, Jorge da Costa, in South Africa on routine government business, asked for asylum and defected to the apartheid state. He subsequently provided the South Africans with valuable security information. On 29 June 1982, João da Silva Ataíde, the Mozambican ambassador in Lisbon, resigned from his post to become a refugee in France and eventually to align himself with Renamo. Coming a year after Adriano Bomba’s dramatic flight to South Africa in July 1981, these high-profile events dented the confidence of the Mozambican government. How could they have happened?
Above: Jorge da Costa. Top left: a full-face picture of da Costa. Bottom left: Lúcio and Maria Chaves – Lúcio had been detained in Mozambique in the mid-1970s – protest the possible granting of asylum to da Costa, June 1982.
At the time of independence, Frelimo had perhaps 12,000 members in total, an undefined number of sympathizers, both sincere and opportunistic – and a country to run. As a political party, however, Frelimo did not really have the capacity to establish a significant presence in the urban areas. Two somewhat ad hoc solutions were found – the establishment of the Grupos Dinamizadores, and the very rapid promotion of young and educated cadres to positions of responsibility.
The somewhat loosely structured Grupos Dinamizadores were a response to the impossibility of having party structures at local level, on the factory floors or in the quarteirões. Their main purpose was the transmission of policy orientations from the top to the grassroots.
The state structures themselves were part of the same problem – the ministries, the departments, the provincial and district structures, the security and intelligence apparatus all needed personnel, and right away, especially since many of the Portuguese colonial officials were packing up and leaving.
It was because of the urgency and desperation of this situation that an ultra-leftist such as Jorge Manuel Antunes da Costa was able to rise so rapidly in the hastily-created security service, SNASP. Da Costa had no personal history with Frelimo or with the Mozambican struggle for national liberation, although he had been a member of the MRPP, an anti-Soviet left group, as a student in Portugal. His career in SNASP was uneven and he seems to have been especially threatened by the legality offensive, as well as resentful of perceived Soviet influence.
Reports on the da Costa Affair, June 1982
◊ 8 June 1982
Cold comfort in Costa’s defection. Pretoria News [Pretoria], 8 June 1982. An editorial arguing that the Bomba and Costa defections from the ‘failing communist regime’ in Mozambique mean that South Africa and ‘the West’ should lend ‘a helping hand’ rather than gloating. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 51 kb.
◊ 8 June 1982
Jorge Costa and the total onslaught. Evening Post [Port Elizabeth], 8 June 1982. Argues that while da Costa's defection fits into total onslaught theory, whatever is wrong with Mozambique should not be used to mask what is wrong in apartheid South Africa. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 64 kb.
◊ 8 June 1982
Maputo defector not prepared to fight for Reds. Pretoria News [Pretoria], 8 June 1982. Reports da Costa’s strong anti-Soviet views, quoting him as saying that ‘the Russians do long term planning and ruined our economy … their main target, however, is southern Africa – no matter how long it takes them.’. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 104 kb.
◊ 8 June 1982
Mozambican tells why he defected: Russians taking over he says. Daily Dispatch [East London], 8 June 1982. Repeats da Costa’s claim that ‘the Soviets want eventually to take command of the economy … southern Africa with its mineral and agricultural wealth is of strategic importance to them …’. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 135 kb.
◊ 8 June 1982
Traidor desmascara-se: comunicado do Ministério da Segurança. Notícias [Maputo], 8 June 1982. The full text in Portuguese of the Government communiqué announcing da Costa’s defection. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 102 kb.
◊ 8 June 1982
Emielia Jaroschek. Top Frelimo security man defects to SA. Rand Daily Mail [Johannesburg], 8 June 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 98 kb.
◊ 8 June 1982
Patrick Laurence. Maputo security chief defects. Guardian [London], 8 June 1982. The report mentions the Adriano Bomba incident of 1981. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 60 kb.
◊ 9 June 1982
Defector a traitor, charges Maputo. Citizen [Johannesburg], 9 June 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 61 kb.
◊ 9 June 1982
Frelimo defector in hiding. Rand Daily Mail [Johannesburg], 9 June 1982. Costa is hidden away by the South African security forces. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 28 kb.
◊ 10 June 1982
Defector may have given tip. Rand Daily Mail [Johannesburg], 10 June 1982. Reports that Costa may have given the South African authorities advance notice of his intention to defect. Also mentions the defection of Ataíde and of the director of finance in the President’s Office, Zulficar Dricamegy. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 69 kb.
◊ 12 June 1982
Costa protests expected. Rand Daily Mail [Johannesburg], 12 June 1982. The possible granting of asylum to Costa provokes protests from people in South Africa who claim that he maltreated them in the past. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 28 kb.
◊ 13 June 1982
Jorge Costa entrega-se à RAS: um traidor para a história da RPM. Tempo [Maputo], 13 June 1982, p.10. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 196 kb.
◊ 13 June 1982
Neil Hooper. Costa branded as torturer: vengeance threat to Death Eyes. Sunday Times [Johannesburg], 13 June 1982, p.1 lead. Story based on the experiences of Al Botes, who allegedly spent 20 months as a prisoner in Mozambique, during which time he was tortured by Costa. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 3.1 Mb.
◊ 13 June 1982
Bruce Loudon and Neil Hooper. The big, big catch for Pretoria. Sunday Times [Johannesburg], 13 June 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 248 kb.
◊ 14 June 1982
África do Sul: portugueses apelam para expulsão de Jorge Costa. Notícias [Maputo], 14 June 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 59 kb.
◊ 14 June 1982
Glenda Gaitz. Local Portuguese against defector: send security man back to Mozambique. Citizen [Johannesburg], 14 June 1982. The story of Lúcio Chaves, a Portuguese entrepreneur arrested by Jorge Costa. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 86 kb.
◊ 14 June 1982
Emielia Jaroschek and Chris Freimond. Costa: torture allegations vs intelligence value. Rand Daily Mail [Johannesburg], 14 June 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 122 kb.
“After Mr Jorge Costa’s defection to South Africa the Mozambican news media launched a campaign to discredit the former head of national security. This was a typical cartoon which was published by the English Information Bulletin of the Mozambique News Agency.” – The Star [Johannesburg], 9 August 1982.
◊ 15 June 1982
João Santa Rita. More demands for Costa’s expulsion. Star [Johannesburg], 15 June 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 70 kb.
◊ 17 June 1982
Deals with a defector. Cape Times [Cape Town], 17 June 1982. Characterises the pending deal with Costa, in which intelligence provided will be compensated by the ignoring of torture allegations, as grubby. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 56 kb.
◊ 20 June 1982
Christina Pretorius. The knives are out now for Devil Eyes. Sunday Express [Johannesburg], 20 June 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 93 kb.
◊ 23 June 1982
Mozambique: Costa’s exit. Africa Confidential [London], vol.23 no.13, 23 June 1982, p.5-6. A serious and detailed analysis of the Costa defection. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 56 kb.
◊ 9 August 1982
João Santa Rita. Costa still awaits asylum. Star [Johannesburg], 9 August 1982. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 66 kb.
◊ 11 February 1983
Russell Kay. Why is this man hiding his face? Scope [Durban], 11 February 1983, p.24-37. Highly sensational exposé-style article in a Durban pin-up magazine. This was the first of three such pieces run by Scope. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 1.2 Mb.
◊ 18 February 1983
Russell Kay. The ANC terror plan to destroy South Africa. Scope [Durban], 18 February 1983, p.26-30, 33-37. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 1.8 Mb.
◊ 25 February 1983
Russell Kay. Uncovered: the damning document that could bring a major Western power toppling to its knees. Scope [Durban], 25 February 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 1.1 Mb.
◊ 17 November 1984
João Santa Rita. Ex-security chief working for SA. Star [Johannesburg], 17 November 1984. Two-and-a-half years after defecting, Costa is reported to be working for South African security in Nelspruit, near the border with Mozambique. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 67 kb.
The Ataíde Affair, June 1982
Five years after defecting, João Ataíde was killed in a car accident in Malawi on 29 November 1987, along with ‘Mateus Lopes’, the pseudonym of José Alfredo da Costa. In his book Dossier Makwakwa: Renamo, uma descida ao coração das trevas (Lisbon: Europress, 2006), Paulo Oliveira claims that this was an assassination [see p.212 et seq.]
◊ 9 June 1982
Mozambique denies diplomat’s reported defection. The Mozambican Embassy in Lisbon issues a statement on 9 June 1982 denying that Ambassador João Ataíde has abandoned his post, reported in Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 18 kb.
◊ 12 June 1982
Embaixador de Maputo centro de especulações. Expresso [Lisbon], 12 June 1982. Reports of Ataíde’s defection are described as ‘pure speculation’ by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 53 kb.
◊ 14 June 1982
Mozambique’s defecting envoy is back. Rand Daily Mail [Johannesburg], 14 June 1982. Ambassador Ataíde returns to Lisbon from a trip to Paris and Brussels and denies having defected. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 623 kb.
◊ 29 June 1982
Resignation of Mozambique’s ambassador to Portugal. João da Silva Ataíde tenders his resignation on 29 June 1982 in a message to President Machel sent from Paris. Reported in Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 20 kb.
◊ 30 June 1982
Embaixador em Portugal pede demissão. Notícias [Maputo], 30 June 1982. A short factual report. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 161 kb.
◊ 14 May 1983
Expulso de Portugal ex-embaixador de Moçambique. Expresso [Lisbon], 14 May 1983. This is the most detailed report in the dossier on the Ataíde affair. It reports that Ataíde had refugee status in France, but returned to Portugal on an outdated diplomatic passport to attend to business interests, and was duly expelled. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 124 kb.
◊ 2 December 1987
MNR chiefs die. Herald [Harare], 2 December 1987. A somewhat garbled recycling of a BBC report that Joan Acaida [sic: João Ataíde] and Jose Asveda [sic: José Alfredo] da Costa had been killed in a car accident in Malawi while returning from a clandestine visit to the MNR inside Mozambique. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 60 kb.
◊ 8 January 1988
Mozambique: spy story Africa Confidential [London], vol.29 no.1, 8 January 1988. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 64 kb.
◊ July 1988
O que aconteceu a João Ataíde? África Confidencial [Lisbon], July 1988, p.9. Click here to view or download a PDF, size 123 kb.