South Africa finalising extradition of Mozambican ‘kidnap mastermind’

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South Africa finalising extradition of Mozambican ‘kidnap mastermind’

12:45 CAT | 10 Apr 2024

FILE - Police Minister Bheki Cele. [File photo: Witness/ Nigel Sibanda]

The authorities in South Africa are finalising the process of the extradition to Mozambique of “a mastermind of kidnappings” in the country, its minister of police, Bheki Cele, has said.

“The extradition process” of a Mozambique national who is “the main mastermind of kidnappings” in the country is being finalised, said Cele, in comments during a meeting with his Mozambican counterpart, Pascoal Ronda, in Maputo.

The extradition process will be “swift and flexible,” the police minister said, noting that the extradition is part of the two countries’ commitment to fighting transnational crime such as kidnapping organisations, money laundering, drug trafficking and robberies.

The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) force has recorded a total of 185 cases of kidnapping and more than 288 people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in this type of crime since 2011, the Minister of the Interior announced on 19 March.

The city of Maputo shows the highest trend and incidence of this type of crime, followed by the province of Maputo and finally Sofala, with 103, 41 and 18 cases recorded respectively in these regions, said Ronda, speaking to journalists after a cabinet meeting.

According to the minister, the trend shows a “decreasing behaviour” since 2020, as a result of “concerted actions” by the authorities.

From January 2023 to the present day, “the PRM has registered nine cases of kidnapping that were carried out and six cases that were thwarted,” he said. “So there were attempts and these attempts were thwarted because, in fact, the communities and the police action signalled that it couldn’t happen.”

The minister acknowledged, however, that challenges remain in terms of combating kidnappings, which are creating a feeling of insecurity that is unfavourable for the business environment.

“There is an urgent need to increasingly improve our methods of action and our training, as well as our empowerment and adequate technological means to respond to the problem and tackle it with the expectation it deserves,” he said.

The wave of kidnappings in Mozambique has affected businesspeople and their families, especially people of South Asian descent.

Source: Lusa