Shop manager shot dead during attempted kidnapping in Maputo foiled by members of the public

The store manager was shot in the abdomen on Tuesday during a kidnapping attempt that was foiled by members of the public who threw stones at the perpetrators, Maputo police spokesman Leonel Muchina told Lusa.

“Unfortunately, the victim was shot in the stomach, but thanks to the actions of members of the public he is out of danger and safe,” said Muchina.

The man suffered an abrasion on his back during the incident, but it was not serious, he added.

A police spokesman said the store manager was leaving the mosque and heading to his place of work on Avenida Filipe Samuel Magaya when three men armed with AKMs attempted to force the victim into the vehicle in which they were being transported. However, the protest was prevented by members of the public who threw stones and other objects, breaking car windows, a Maputo City police spokesman said.

The three men fled but shot the victim in the stomach and lightly wounded another man, Leonel Muchina said.

In November, Mozambique’s Central Office for Combating Organized and Transnational Crime (GCCOT) filed charges against three defendants allegedly involved in the kidnapping and death of a 57-year-old man in December 2022, the agency said.

One of the accused is a former member of the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernik) and the other is a member of the Provincial Justice Department, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison for his involvement in other crimes, including kidnapping, but was acquitted in the second instance,” it says in a GCCOT statement.

Back in November, Mozambican police reported that a businessman was shot dead by unknown assailants attempting to kidnap him in the city of Maputo, a crime that was prevented thanks to community intervention.

Some cities in Mozambique, mainly provincial capitals, have been hit again by a wave of kidnappings since 2020, mainly targeting businessmen or their families.