Mozambique: Mozambique: Businessman releases shortly after being kidnapped – Lusa report

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Mozambique: Mozambique: Businessman releases shortly after being kidnapped – Lusa report

2:08 CAT | 11 Oct 2024

Screen grab: Miramar

A businessman kidnapped by armed men in the centre of Maputo on Friday morning has since been rescued by police forces, the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) has announced in the Mozambican capital.

“It was around 8:00 a.m. that a Mozambican businessman, aged around 50, was intercepted, just as he was about to open his commercial establishment, and after crossing the avenue he was stopped by three individuals carrying firearms,” said Leonel Muchina, spokesperson for the PRM in Maputo.

The kidnapping took place on José Solvo Street, in the centre of Maputo, when the businessman, approaching his commercial establishment, was “dragged” away by the kidnappers and “forcibly” shoved into a vehicle.

“It was possible to closely flank the vehicles with the characteristics that were presented to us, and the criminals abandoned the vehicle in the Matola Gare area, next to the victim,” Muchina reported.

The PRM spokesperson concluded that the victim is a member one of the police units in the Mozambican capital and was “in good health”, while a search was launched for those responsible.

This is the first reported case of kidnapping in Maputo since the beginning of August, a period that coincided with the campaign for the country’s general elections, held this Wednesday (09-10).

Around 150 businesspeople have been kidnapped in Mozambique in the last 12 years, and a hundred are reported to 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”.

“There are already 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,” Pedro Baltazar, president of the security and private protection department of the CTA, told a press conference in Maputo.

“With about 12 years having passed 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,” the CTA official said, alleging an impact of “billions of dollars” on the economy.

Up until March of this year, the Mozambican police had registered a total of 185 cases of kidnapping, and at least 288 people arrested since 2011 on suspicion of involvement in crimes of this type, the Minister of the Interior previously announced.

Source: Lusa