Crime Wave Hits Nacala, Mozambique

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Crime Wave Hits Nacala, Mozambique

3:04 CAT | 07 Dec 2015

Domingo / A view of Nacala city

Residents of the port city of Nacala in Nampula province are facing a crime wave of alarming proportions. According to weekly newspaper Domingo, three to five crimes, committed in public thoroughfares, shops and homes, are being reported every day.

The perpetrators are mostly young people of 18 to 30 years of age. They operate gangs of 5 to 15, some armed with guns, others with machetes, knives and pickaxes, among other offensive weapons.

Residents say that when a gang attacks a commercial establishment or home, they first block access to the neighbourhood or site. Burglaries are carried out with getaway vehicles to take the stolen goods away as quickly as possible.

No one is certain of the gang members’ origin, but people say they are made up of young city residents, sometimes with the participation of others from elsewhere in the country.

Residents talking to Domingo report a recent case of a Chinese businessman who was stopped near the Nacala Dam on a trip to Nampula.

Four robbers followed him as he left the city and tried to block his car after they had passed the police road control post. But, as luck would have it, in their haste they overturned their own vehicle, leaving two dead at the scene. A further robber was shot dead in the ensuing police chase, leaving one suspect at large.

Domingo reports that the deceased members of the gang lived in the Mocone area of the city, while the other two had come to Nacala purely for this one operation.

One of the criminals family’s neighbours told Domingo that, just before the operation, they had all gathered at the house of the mother of one of them, where they had had a meal together. A neighbour reported hearing one of them saying, playfully, “Mother, cook us something nice, you may never see us again.” The next day, three of them were dead and the other one on the run.

DESPAIR

Shopkeepers and small-scale entrepreneurs are desperate because of the crime-induced uncertainty. The situation is more complicated because most of them work with borrowed money or products.

Iamusse Mussa is the owner of a shop selling tires, bicycles, motorbike parts and mobile phones batteries. He told reporters how five robbers armed with machetes stormed his establishment early one morning (around 2h00m a.m.).

They bound and gagged his guard then broke down the door and woke the owner up, demanding money.

“I said I didn’t have any. One of the criminals said roughly: ‘Then get some! You think we came here to play?’ Meanwhile, he was hitting me on my forehead with a machete. Then I saw that I had no choice. I took 42,000 meticais, which was to buy goods, and gave it to him.”

But even then the robbers were not satisfied. They searched the premises and took four cell phones, then began making off with the tires. “It was then that I managed to get away and call for help. My family came and took me to hospital,” Iamusse said.

Leonardo Chale, owner of a shop selling food and cleaning products, says the attackers who arrived on his property were armed with pickaxes and machetes.

When he realized what was happening, the security guard ran towards the house shouting for help.

The thieves burst into his stall and took 30,000 meticais, seven bags of flour, five bags of rice, 16 buckets of oil and five oil drums.

“We are in a bad situation,” Leonardo complains. “There is no security. Imagine – three shops in the area raided in just that morning. I can’t identify them yet, but my colleagues who were also hit followed the car. When they realized they were being followed the thieves abandoned it and made off carrying the stolen goods.”

POLICE ACCOMPLICES

The population of Nacala believes that the local police are complicit in many of the robberies in the city. The accusation follows the strange behaviour of police officers when they are called to intervene.

According to the residents, the police does not answer telephone calls. However, when the population catches the perpetrators, they show up even without being called.

The other circumstance giving rise to suspicion is the record time that police officers take to build their homes. Given the salaries that they receive, residents say, it’s surprising that they can build a type 3 house in just a month.

“NO COMPLAINT”

In response, PRM District Commander in Nacala, Duarde Laqueliva, says that since he was appointed, he has never received a complaint about the involvement of a member of his force in any robbery or case of corruption.

To Laqueliva, the best way to tackle this situation would be to name the officers involved.

“I want to believe that, if people know the names of police officers terrorising our communities, they would come and tell us so that we can take appropriate action. If we go on like this, we will not solve the problem. Right now we are concerned about the kidnapping and hunting of albinos,” he said.

Source: Domingo