Mozambique: Another businessman kidnapped in Maputo

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Mozambique: Another businessman kidnapped in Maputo

8:39 CAT | 12 Feb 2024

Photo: Anti-Raptos Beira

Another Mozambican businessman from the Hindu community was kidnapped in Maputo on Sunday, just a few meters from a barracks along Avenida Amílcar Cabral, in the Sommershield neighbourhood, AIM reports.

The kidnapping took place at around 9 a.m. and the victim, identified as Dharmendra, owner of a “bottle store” located less than 50 metres from the military barracks and next to “O Vosso Supermercado”, in the area known as ‘military zone’ [zona militar’].

Witnesses at the scene, cited by AIM. say that the kidnappers were armed, executed the crime quickly and without any chance of reaction from the victim, with the police arriving at the scene later, after the act had been completed.

“I saw the gentleman arriving, to open the bottle store. I usually carry his vases in the mornings and open the store door before his workers arrive. So, when I wanted to help him, I saw a car parked there (near the bottle store) and he was already inside”, said Mateus Machava, one of the witnesses, at the scene, cited by O País.

Witnesses heard by O País say that they all thought that “those inside the parked car] were customers. “They got out of the car and three minutes later they left with the elderly man. They carried him and left. There were three. One was in the car and the other two got out. They were kids. They weren’t grown up people. Two of them were armed.”

“The workers were inside. They couldn’t leave. The person kidnapped is the owner of the bottle store. It wasn’t even 10 minutes after it opened. I think the kidnappers were monitoring him. He has no security guard. The military did nothing because no one noticed anything. I realized because I was nearby. The police arrived at the scene 30 minutes later”, described one of the witnesses. in statements to O País.

The informal vendors who were carrying out their activities on the street, where the kidnapping occurred, also saw something. “I saw a car go into the entrance of the bottle store. The occupants exited the vehicle and entered the store. It was impossible to understand what happened inside. Just the car leaving at high speed. That’s when they screamed kidnappers, kidnappers”, said Florência, a saleswoman whose stall was positioned in front of the crime scene.

Miramar reports that businessman kidnapped yesterday is 65 years old.

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This year alone, there have been three cases of kidnappings in Maputo, two which were consummated and one thwarted kidnap attempt thanks to popular intervention in downtown Maputo.

The phenomenon reveals the appetite that criminals have for the kidnapping industry, which continues to sow fear in the business class, while the Anti-Abduction Brigade promised by the Executive does not become operational.

It should be noted that kidnappings are an organized crime that has been keeping businesspeople up for more than 13 years in Mozambique, having claimed several dozen victims, putting public safety at risk.

Source: AIM / O País / Miramar