Africa-Press – Mozambique. The president of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, acknowledged on Wednesday that combating the kidnappings that plague the country, particularly Maputo and especially businesspeople, requires more “proactivity”, namely collaboration with the private sector and other countries.
“We are working with countries that have a lot of experience in this regard,” Nyusi said in his speech at the 19th Annual Private Sector Conference (CASP), which brings together dozens of national and foreign businesspeople in Maputo until Friday.
The head of state insisted that the fight against kidnappings is an effort that must be made by all the forces of society, “including partners and friends”, asking for time for the results of this fight to emerge.
The most recent kidnapping case in Maputo took place last Saturday, involving a 29-year-old man who was taken by eight armed men who fired shots into the street, a source from the National Criminal Investigation Service told Lusa at the time.
According to the source, the kidnapping took place on Joaquim Chissano Avenue, next to one of the victim’s shops, and four of the kidnappers had AK-47 machine guns.
“Some shots were fired. According to the information gathered at the scene, there were eight individuals travelling in light vehicles,” said the source.
This was the second kidnapping of businessmen in the last fortnight in Maputo, and at least the fourth since the beginning of the year.
The Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) have recorded a total of 185 cases of kidnapping and at least 288 people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in this type of crime since 2011, the interior minister announced in March.
“Maputo city has the highest trend and incidence of criminal cases of kidnapping, followed by Maputo province and, finally, Sofala, with 103, 41 and 18 cases recorded, respectively,” said Pascoal Ronda on 19 March.
According to Ronda, the trends show a “decreasing behaviour” since 2020, as a result of “concerted actions” by the Mozambican authorities.
“It should also be noted that from January 2023 to the present day, the PRM has recorded nine cases of kidnappings that were carried out and six cases that were thwarted (…) because, in fact, the communities and the police action thwarted them,” he added at the time.
The Mozambican minister acknowledged, however, that there are challenges to combating kidnappings in the country, considering that the wave is creating a feeling of insecurity that is unfavourable for the business environment.
The wave of kidnappings in Mozambique has affected businesspeople and their families, especially people of Asian descent, which for the authorities requires reflection.
The majority of kidnappings committed in Mozambique are prepared outside the country, which makes it difficult to combat this type of crime, the Attorney General, Beatriz Buchili, said in parliament in April.
Most of the masterminds live in South Africa, she said.
“For this reason, the investigation and investigation necessarily requires recourse to international legal and judicial cooperation mechanisms, involving countries with an objective or subjective connection to the crime, for mutual legal assistance, extradition or information sharing,” she added.
The Attorney General’s Office emphasises that 20 requests for extradition and mutual legal assistance were submitted over a year ago, including from identified kidnappers, but Mozambique has not received a response.
In the annual report, the Attorney General’s Office pointed out that in 2023 seven criminal cases of kidnapping were opened, a drop of 53.3% compared to the previous year, when 15 were registered.
Charges were brought in 12 cases and five were closed, with nine carried over to this year.
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