Mozambique: Members of the public abort a kidnapping in Maputo - AIM report
Image: O PaĂs
SERNIC says it is working to rescue the victim and neutralise the kidnappers, but does not say whether or not there are clues as to who they are. Businesspeople say the state is powerless to deal with kidnappings.
Several videos have been shared in which the actions of the kidnappers are visible, men apparently not in the least concerned about surveillance cameras or the footage being taken by members of the public, not even hiding their faces. Everything happens in fractions of seconds; the gang wielding firearms usually for the exclusive use of the Defence and Security Forces, firing gunshots and driving away with the businessman.
🚨 vĂdeo que circula nas redes sociais sobre o rapto, há bocado, na cidade de #Maputo, do Calu dos armazĂ©ns Atlântico. Homens armados dispararam com AK47 enquanto cometiam o crime. Consta que Ă© a segunda vez que ele Ă© sequestrado, sendo que a primeira foi em 2011. #Mocambique pic.twitter.com/mfxgdBJOWr
— Alexandre Nhampossa (@AllexandreMZ) January 20, 2024
On Monday, more than 24 hours after the kidnapping, the whereabouts of the victim and the kidnappers are still unknown. Sernic in Maputo says it is working to clarify the crime and, at this moment, sharing any information could harm the investigation.
Crimes driven by mafias
Jurist and criminal law expert ElĂsio de Sousa defends the need to strengthen, articulate and train justice administration institutions to be able to prevent and combat kidnappings.
READ: Mozambique: Businessman kidnaped in Maputo amid gunfire – Watch
Mozambique: Another businessman kidnapped in central Maputo – AIM report
“I think that combating kidnappings has to do with a series of institutions that must be coordinated. It has to do with a series of actions that must be carried out by various institutions and has to do with strengthening the Public Prosecutor’s Office. We have a Public Prosecutor that is still somewhat timid, which does not even know what its powers are. We have a Public Prosecutor’s Office that looks more like a business office,” de Sousa laments.
“We need to have an institution that can give us security about its actions,” she says. “We must have strong courts, which are able not only to judge those criminals who are on the receiving end of justice, but also which have investigative power. We have to reform the Judicial Organization Law so as to have criminal investigation judges who go into the field, judges who work, because these types of situations are crimes driven by mafias.”
Through his Facebook page, the former president of the Mozambican Bar Association, Gilberto Correia, criticized the CTA for not putting pressure on the authorities to put an end to the kidnappings.
“They will surely come with yet another innocuous communiquĂ©, a few more ministerial meetings, a few more appearances on TV, without any more energetic action, without any form of protest that presses for concrete results so that, at least, the kidnapping industry no longer destroys the such a business environment that they talk about so much,” Correia complains.
The CTA created the Security and Protection department, which says that it is not responsible for fighting crime, placing that responsibility on the Mozambican authorities. Pedro Baltazar, president of the department in question, says that those who should combat the crime of kidnapping are not doing so.
“There is impotence in Mozambique in dealing with the phenomenon of kidnappings. Then there is the certainty, the absolute certainty that their [the kidnappers’] action will be crowned with success and then the feeling of impunity. We need to start energetic actions to combat kidnappings,” CTA’s Baltazar says.
The CTA says that the number of businesspeople leaving the country due to the increase in kidnappings is increasing.
“We have a group of businessmen who had been investing in the country, but were forced to withdraw because of insecurity due to the phenomenon of kidnappings,” the organisation complains.
Maputo is one of the most policed cities in the country; there are PRM agents everywhere. What is not understood is how violent crimes occur right under the nose of the police without anything happening. The authorities seem unable to identify or neutralize the criminals, as was again seen last Saturday.
ElĂsio de Sousa says this scenario is inconceivable. “It is not acceptable that, in broad daylight, in a situation where people are still preparing for the day, there are criminals already planning to commit crimes. It is not acceptable that, in broad daylight, we do not have police around to prevent a crime that happens within two or three corners of a police station,” de Sousa stresses.
The CTA also questions the stage of creation of the special force to combat kidnappings announced by the government. Businesspeople say they have already made several suggestions to the executive to combat kidnappings, one of which is the installation of surveillance cameras on public roads to help identify criminals.
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