Eight armed men kidnapped a 29-year-old man in Maputo

The 29-year-old was kidnapped on Saturday in Maputo by eight armed men who were shooting on the road, a source from the National Criminal Investigation Service told Lusa this Sunday.

According to the source, the kidnapping took place on Joaquim Chissano Avenue, near one of the victim’s business establishments, at around 08:00 local time (07:00 Lisbon time), and four of the kidnappers were in possession of AK-47 assault rifles.

“There were several shots fired. According to information collected at the scene, eight people were being transported in cars,” the source said.

This is the second case of kidnapping of businessmen in Maputo in the last 15 days and at least the fourth since the beginning of the year.

The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) have recorded a total of 185 cases of kidnapping and at least 288 people have been detained on suspicion of involvement in this type of crime since 2011, the interior minister said last March.

“Everything indicates that the city of Maputo has the highest trend and number of criminal cases of kidnapping, followed by the province of Maputo and finally Sofala with a record of 103, 41 and 18 cases respectively,” said Pascoal Ronda, March 19 .

Since 2020, trends have shown a “worsening behavior” as a result of “concerted actions” by Mozambican authorities, a government official said.

“It is also important to note that from January 2023 to date, FRM has recorded nine cases of completed kidnappings and six cases have been solved. So there were attempts, and those attempts were stopped because, in truth, the communities and the actions of the police gave a sign that this could not happen,” the government official added at the time.

However, the Mozambican minister admitted that the country has problems combating kidnappings, given that the wave is creating a sense of insecurity that is not good for the business environment.

“There is an urgent need to increasingly improve our modus operandi and our training, as well as our powers and adequate technological means, to respond to the problem and confront it with the expectations it deserves,” the government official added.

A wave of kidnappings in Mozambique has affected businessmen and their families, especially those of Asian descent, which authorities say requires reflection.

Most kidnappings committed in Mozambique are carried out outside the country, making it difficult to combat this type of crime, the republic’s attorney general, Beatrice Buchili, told parliament in April.

“One of the biggest problems in wrestling [aos raptos] This is because most of the pre-crime and ransom payment activities take place outside the country,” he said during his annual briefing to parliament.

Most of those responsible live in South Africa, he said.

“Therefore, investigation and investigation necessarily require the use of international legal and judicial cooperation mechanisms involving countries with objective or subjective involvement in the crime for mutual legal assistance, extradition or exchange of information,” he added.

The PIU emphasizes that more than a year ago, 20 requests for extradition and mutual legal assistance were submitted, including from identified perpetrators of abductions, but Mozambique received no response.

It also highlights ongoing efforts to sign an extradition agreement between Mozambique and South Africa aimed at strengthening cooperation in the fight against organized crime.

The PGR’s annual report indicates that seven criminal cases of kidnapping were opened in 2023, a 53.3% decrease from the previous year, in which 15 were registered.

Charges were filed in 12 cases, five of which were filed, nine of which were rescheduled for this year.