Mozambique: Kidnapped Portuguese businessman rescued in Matola-Rio

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Mozambique: Kidnapped Portuguese businessman rescued in Matola-Rio

5:27 CAT | 13 Nov 2024

File photo: MzNews

The Portuguese businessman kidnapped on 29 October in central Maputo was rescued in Matola-Rio, on the outskirts of the Mozambican capital, the Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) announced this Wednesday.

According to a source from SERNIC, the businessman was being held “captive” in a residence in the Jonasse neighbourhood, Matola Rio, but the criminal investigation force is reserving further details for a press conference today on site.

The Portuguese businessman, who works in the construction industry, was kidnapped in the early afternoon of 29 October in central Maputo, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mozambican police confirmed at the time.

From the surveillance footage at the scene, which Lusa had access to, it is possible to see the businessman arriving at a development in the Polana neighbourhood, in the centre of the capital, driving his car alone, at around 12:00 local time. As he got out of the car, a group of two men approached on foot and, with the support of two others who were driving a car that had stopped at the scene, carried the victim inside, with firearms and at least one shot fired being visible on the footage.

This is the second known case of kidnapping in Maputo in October, but in the previous one, which occurred on 11 October, also in the centre of the capital, the victim was released hours later, in Matola, after a police chase.

READ: Update: Portuguese businessman kidnapped in Maputo – AIM report

Mozambique: Police rescue kidnapped businessman in Maputo – AIM report

The last case in Maputo occurred at the beginning of August, before the start of the electoral campaign for the general elections on 9 October. Around 150 businesspeople have been kidnapped in Mozambique in the last 12 years and a hundred have left the country out of fear, according to figures released in July by the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), which argues that it is time for the government to say “enough is enough”. “We are already approaching 150.

More than a hundred have left the country. We are not talking about those who held administrative or management positions, if we count them there are many more. We are talking about those who held the capital, who were the shareholders of the companies”, said Pedro Baltazar, president of the CTA’s security and private protection department, at a press conference in Maputo. “After about 12 years since the first kidnapping, we believe that there is enough time for the government to put more pragmatic pressure on itself to put an end to this evil.

Therefore, we reiterate the need for the government to accept the measures proposed by the private sector,” said the CTA leader, acknowledging the impact of “billions of dollars” on the economy and employment in the country.

The Mozambican police registered, up until March, a total of 185 cases of kidnapping and at least 288 people were arrested on suspicion of involvement in this type of crime since 2011, the Minister of the Interior, Pascoal Ronda, previously announced.

Source: Lusa