Mozambique: Another businessman kidnapped in centre of the country

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Mozambique: Another businessman kidnapped in centre of the country

2:58 CAT | 08 Jul 2022

Image: Lusa

An unknown group on Thursday kidnapped businessman Ebraim Seedat in the city of Chimoio, Manica province, central Mozambique, a source from the local police (PRM) said on Friday.

“The crime was perpetrated by three people armed with firearms. It was impossible to abort the action, but at this moment, all the operative lines have been launched,” Mateus Mindu, PRM spokesman in Sofala, told a press conference.

Ebraim Seedat, 60, a citizen of Asian origin and with dual nationality (Portuguese and Mozambican), was kidnapped in the early evening, near the entrance to his residence, in Zambia Street, in a prime area of the city of Chimoio and with “a considerable security cordon”.

“He arrived at the house in his vehicle at the usual time after closing the shop, but soon another van came in, and armed men got off it and took him away,” one of the residence’s security guards told Lusa.

Another security guard from the Patel chain of commercial establishments belonging to the victim told Lusa that his boss led a “normal life” without escorts or private security guards, as do most Asian businessmen in Chimoio.

“He left here from the shop around 6 pm [5 pm in Lisbon] to go home and we did not notice any strange movement that would raise suspicions, ” the security guard said.

Some Mozambican cities, mainly provincial capitals, have again been plagued since 2020 by a wave of kidnappings targeting businessmen or their relatives.

In Chimoio alone, this is the sixth case of kidnapping in the last three and a half years, with the victims having returned home without police intervention and after ransom payments in most cases.

In an assessment on crime presented at the beginning of May, the Mozambican Attorney General said kidnapping crimes have been increasing, and criminal groups have cross-border ramifications, maintaining cells in countries such as South Africa.

According to Beatriz Buchili, 14 criminal cases of kidnapping were registered in 2021, compared to 18 in 2020, but other cases escape official accounting, and in most cases, the outcome is unknown.

In November 2021, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique launched the formation of a mixed force to respond to this type of crime, a group of officers who Rwandan specialists will train.

Source: Lusa