Severo Matías Moto Nsá (born November 6, 1943), known as Severo Moto, is the most notable opposition politician in

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

, and leader of the Progress Party of Equatorial Guinea. He lives in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

where he has established a

government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

, to the irritation of President

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (; born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician, former military officer and dictator who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since 1982. Previously, he was the Chairman of the Supreme Mi ...

. Born at Acock in

Río Muni Río Muni (called ''Mbini'' in Fang language, Fang) is the Continental Region (called ''Región Continental'' in Spanish language, Spanish) of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering . The name is derived fr ...

, Moto trained to become a Catholic priest. Under President

Francisco Macías Nguema Francisco Macías Nguema (born Mez-m Ngueme, later Africanisation, Africanised to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong; 1 January 1924 – 29 September 1979), often referred to as Macías Nguema or simply Macías, was an Equatoguinean politician w ...

, he was a radio operator and newspaper editor during the 1970s, but he was eventually placed under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

and was not released until Obiang overthrew Macias in 1979. Obiang initially entrusted Moto with a series of important jobs: he represented Equatorial Guinea at the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

's summit in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly ) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea in the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko (, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a population of approxim ...

's reviled Black Beach prison, but later released and allowed to go back into exile. He claims to have won several elections in Equatorial Guinea. He was reportedly on good terms with

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...

, who was Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. Due to this and his position as the main contender to become president after a coup, he was accused by Equatorial Guinea of being the instigator of the March 2004 attempt led by

Simon Mann Simon Francis Mann (26 June 1952 – 8 May 2025) was a British officer in the Special Air Service (SAS), and later a mercenary. He trained to be an officer at Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Scots Guards. He later became a member of t ...

and Nick du Toit, and tried in absentia. He disappeared for a short time in 2005, only to reappear unharmed. He claimed a pair of hitmen had taken him out on a yacht in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, only to let him go because he was a fellow

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

In Spain

On December 30, 2005 the Spanish government lifted his

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

. Moto stated that before being expelled to a third country he would return to Equatorial Guinea in order to call for free elections. He appealed the decision, and eventually, in March 2008, the Spanish Supreme Court upheld his asylum request.Al Goodman
"Exiled leader arrested in Spain over arms trafficking"
CNN, April 15, 2008. Weapons were found in a car at the port in

Sagunto Sagunto () is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located approximately north of the city of Valencia, close to the Costa ...

"Equatorial Guinea opposition politician arrested in Spain for arms smuggling"
African Press Agency, April 15, 2008. on March 4, 2008 and they were reportedly about to be sent to Equatorial Guinea. Moto was arrested in Toledo Province in mid-April 2008 on suspicion of involvement in this.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moto Nsa, Severo Matias 1943 births Living people People from Centro Sur Equatoguinean Roman Catholics Progress Party of Equatorial Guinea politicians Equatoguinean exiles Equatoguinean prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Equatorial Guinea Equatoguinean religious leaders 20th-century Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Roman Catholic priests