Mozambique: 185 kidnap cases recorded since 2011 – Minister

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Mozambique: 185 kidnap cases recorded since 2011 – Minister

2:17 CAT | 20 Mar 2024

Photo: O País

The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) recorded a total of 185 cases of kidnapping since 2011, with more than 288 people detained on suspicion of involvement, the Minister of the Interior announced on Tuesday.

“Everything indicates that the city of Maputo has the highest trend and incidence of criminal cases of kidnapping, followed by the province of Maputo and, finally, Sofala, with a record of 103, 41 and 18 cases respectively,” Minister Pascoal Ronda told the media after a meeting of the Council of Ministers at the Mozambican Presidency.

According to Ronda, trends show a “decreasing behaviour” since 2020, due to “concerted actions” by the Mozambican authorities.

“It is also important to mention that, from January 2023 to the present day, the PRM registered nine cases of completed kidnappings, while six attempts were frustrated. These attempts were frustrated because community and police action gave a sign that it couldn’t happen,” the government official added.

The Mozambican minister admitted, however, that challenges in combating kidnappings in the country persisted, considering that the wave was creating a feeling of insecurity unfavourable to the business environment.

“There is an urgent need to increasingly improve our methods of action and our training, as well as our empowerment and adequate technological means to respond to the problem and face it with the expectations it deserves,” the minister added.

The wave of kidnappings in Mozambique has affected mostly businesspeople and their families, especially those of Asian descent, which the authorities believe requires reflection.

“This question is very profound and requires new reflection (…). We are carrying out a study to address it,” Minister Ronda said.

Pascoal Ronda said that the crime has ramifications that extend to neighbouring South Africa, a country with which Mozambique has strong relations, with even foreigners detained for involvement in the kidnappings in Mozambique.

“The perpetrators of these crimes remain hidden somewhere, but efforts are underway to locate them. Some are in other countries, which is why the government has been launching bilateral, multilateral and even international cooperation efforts,” he added.

The Mozambican Police Association said in an interview with Lusa some weeks ago that there was a lack of political will to stop the wave of kidnappings in the country, urging reform and investment in the corporation to make it more effective in combating this type of crime.

“To have the desired security in combating this crime we need an organized force. Our police today are not prepared to guarantee public order and security. This does not mean that we do not have police, we do have many good ones, but we lack political will,” president of the association Nazário Muanambane declared at the time.

Source: Lusa