Mozambique: Bernardino Rafael advocates for a united effort in combating crime
Folha de Maputo (File)
Another albino child was kidnapped over the weekend in the Moatize district of Tete province, making five victims now since the December start of the recent wave of abductions in this central region of Mozambique, AIM reports.
The seven-year-old child was abducted in the mining region of Benga in Moatize. The six kidnappers struck in the dead of night and threatened the victim’s mother with a gun before speeding off with the child in a black car.
Robilio Nhakalize, the uncle of the abducted child, said yesterday that he immediately brought the incident to the attention of the district police authorities of Moatize, not only to expedite recovery of the kidnap victim, but also protect two other albino children in the same family.
“We do not know how we will survive, because the crooks know now that they left behind two more albino children. We are afraid that they might return at any time. This situation is critical – it seems that abductions only occur here in Tete province,” Nhakalize said.
The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) says they have been searching for the kidnappers since the first case occurred in Marara district. The second incident took place in Ulónguè village in Angónia in January and the last three cases, including this weekend’s, in Moatize.
People with albinism and parents of albino children say they no longer dare go out into to the street or to market for fear of being abducted and murdered. Albinos say that when they do go out, people make comments like “See, my business is coming,” or, “You know you’re a good deal?”
Such threats were confirmed by Cesaria Chazia, head of the task force that watches over albinos in Tete province.
Lurdes Ferreira, press officer of the PRM in Tete, condemned the phenomenon, saying yesterday that the police were continuing to make very effort to solve all the cases brought to their attention in that part of the country.
She promised that the police would do their best to deter people who utter threats to albinos. “We are all equal before the law and we denounce those who promote abductions or threaten the safety of this group of citizens.”
Last week, the PRM arrested two women for complicity in the abduction of a young albino in Moatize village, the wife and sister of a citizen seen driving away a young albino man of 19 who is still missing.
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