Mozambique: 300 terrorists have surrendered to authorities in Mocímboa da Praia recently - report
Screen grab: TV Sucesso
The Islamic Council of Mozambique on Thursday asked the government to step up efforts to stop kidnappings, warning that businesspeople are leaving the country.
“We call on the government to further intensify efforts to combat the evil plaguing our country,” said secretary-general of the Islamic Council of Mozambique Mussa Tamimo, quoted yesterday by the media.
Tamimo warned that businesspeople are leaving the country in the face of constant kidnappings, expressing “displeasure with what is happening to (…) brothers, especially from the Indian community and the business community”.
“They are leaving [Mozambique] and the country is the loser, since many Mozambican brothers will lose their jobs and this will consequently be reflected in their families,” Tamimo said.
The President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, said in parliament on Wednesday that the country has recorded 22 kidnapping crimes since January 2023, and expressed regret in his latest speech on the state of the nation that the problem has not been fully resolved.
“Is it worth saying here: have we resolved the kidnapping problem? No. But we are combating kidnapping to the best of our abilities,” the head of state said during his three-and-a-half hour State of the Nation speech.
According to Nyusi, at least 11 of the 22 kidnapping crimes have been solved, with the release of the victims, including eight in police operations, with 53 people linked to the crime being arrested and four places of captivity being dismantled.
The National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) confirmed to Lusa on August 6 the existence of three international arrest warrants for citizens identified as “potential” kidnapping masterminds now in South Africa, adding that Sernic is working in coordination with Interpol for their execution.
Another businessman was kidnapped near a hotel in Maputo this Monday, according to the same source.
Around 150 businessmen have been kidnapped in Mozambique in the last 12 years and a hundred have left the country out of fear, according to the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), which argues that it is time for the government to say “enough”.
The Mozambican police have registered, up until March, a total of 185 cases of kidnapping, and at least 288 people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in this type of crime since 2011, the Minister of the Interior previously announced.
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