The Matola ‘barraca’ owner ‘kidnappers’ were police agents: Amosse is back home

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The Matola ‘barraca’ owner ‘kidnappers’ were police agents: Amosse is back home

10:14 CAT | 26 Jan 2016

Jornal Notícias / Amosse back with his family.

On Wednesday 20 January, multiple newspapers reported that the owner of the Amosse ‘barrraca’ (informal container shop) was abducted on Wednesday 20 January, from the Machava-Socimol neighbourhood, in Matola (Maputo Province).

The supposed victim, Amosse Nhanchengo, was said to have been abducted from his shop by armed men who informed passers-by that they were taking the owner of the shop to the police station for allegedly buying stolen goods.

According to the source, the men forced the victim into an awaiting car (with a South African licence plate) and subsequently fired two live rounds into the air before fleeing.

Police spokesperson in Maputo Province, Emidio Mabunda, told reporters at the time that the PRM had no firm information on the occurrence as yet but was working to clarify events surrounding the case.

On Friday 22 January, Nhanchengo returned home only to explain that he had in fact been taken to the local police station by a team from the Criminal Investigation Police (PIC) for questioning.

According to reports, the incident caused panic amongst local bystanders because the officers were heavily armed and travelling in a vehicle brandishing South African registration plates (which is rather uncommon for Mozambican law enforcement agencies). As such, the crowd attempted to rescue Nhanchengo from his “abductors”, at which point the PIC unit opened fire in order to disperse the crowd.

While the incident was not an actual kidnapping, it serves as an indication of the sheer panic within Maputo Province with regard to the kidnap-for-ransom phenomenon.

Source: Folha de Maputo