Mozambican police announced on Thursday the rescue during a police operation of a 26-year-old Portuguese-Mozambican citizen who had been in captivity for 50 days.
According to a source from the National Criminal Investigation Department (Sernic), the operation “culminated in the neutralization of two male individuals”.
The victim had been kidnapped outside his home in the center of Maputo by three armed men on November 1.
“The situation is being monitored through diplomatic and consular posts in Maputo, which are in contact with the family,” a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) previously told Lusa, saying the young Portuguese-Mozambican woman remains in captivity to this day. .
The Portuguese MNO previously confirmed to Lusa that the Maputo Consulate General oversaw the attempted kidnapping of another Portuguese-Mozambican citizen, which took place on November 27, the second such case in a month.
“The Consulate General in Maputo is monitoring the situation of the attempted kidnapping of a Portuguese-Mozambican citizen. The Mozambican authorities have taken charge of the incident,” an official MNO source said in response to a question from Lusa.
It concerns a Portuguese-Mozambican businessman who was shot by unknown people who tried to kidnap him in the center of the city of Maputo, a crime that was foiled thanks to the intervention of the population.
Nearly 400 people signed an online petition within 24 hours through Wednesday, calling for the “unconditional” release of Mozambican and Portuguese-Mozambican citizens held in captivity in Mozambique and against the kidnappings hitting the country.
“Kidnappings are a heinous crime that has plagued Mozambican society for years. There is an urgent need for Mozambican society to rise up against what is happening in the country,” reads the online petition “Against Kidnappings in Mozambique,” which was subscribed by 379 people in the first 24 hours.
“The signatories of this petition call for the unconditional release of Portuguese-Mozambicans and Mozambicans in captivity. To this end, the signatories of this petition call on the authorities of Mozambique to do everything in their power to rescue them, and the authorities of Portugal to provide the necessary and unconditional support in this process within the scope of customary cooperation between the two states,” reads the document, addressed to the governments of the two countries.
In recent weeks, Maputo has been experiencing a new wave of kidnappings, especially of businessmen, with two Portuguese-Mozambicans targeted since November and suspicions of the involvement of officers involved in the police investigation in these types of crimes.
There is no official data on the number of people currently imprisoned and victims of kidnappings in Mozambique, but on November 17, another Mozambican businessman linked to the automotive sector was also kidnapped by unknown men in the city of Maputo.
“Do not let these victims be forgotten,” the signatories of the petition, Portuguese and Mozambican citizens, also call for.
Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi acknowledged in parliament on Wednesday that despite improvements in the fight against crime, there are still concerns about kidnapping crimes that continue to plague the country.
“Despite this progress, kidnapping cases continue to concern us, even with a decrease of six, compared to twelve cases recorded in the same period of 2022,” the head of state said in the customary annual state of the nation address. , during the Assembly of the Republic in Maputo.
“And of these cases, four related to the crime of kidnapping were cleared up, 31 persons were arrested, the same ones involved in previous kidnappings, and a director was also arrested in the Republic of South Africa, in the context of the judicial cooperation between the authorities of the two countries,” Nyusi added.
The Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA), the country’s largest employers’ organization, in early November, in light of this new wave of cases, defended “tougher” prison sentences for kidnappers and without the option of posting bail to stop these crimes.
Mozambique’s Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane announced in parliament last May that the officers who will work in a special unit to combat kidnappings affecting the country have already been selected.
According to a balance sheet presented by the head of government, 28 cases of kidnapping have been registered since 2021, of which “15 have been fully clarified”.
Source: DN
