31 kidnapping suspects arrested, says Nyusi

Maputo, 30 Nov (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi announced on Wednesday that this year the police have arrested 31 suspected members of kidnap gangs.

He was speaking at the opening of a meeting in Maputo of the Coordinating Council of the Ministry of the Interior, which is being held under the theme “consolidating strategies for institutional development and for improving internal security faced with the challenges of organized crime, notably kidnapping, terrorism and its financing, and money laundering”.

Nyusi insisted that there have been “noteworthy advances” in the fight against organized crime. He claimed that the number of crimes has fallen by 666, in comparison with the same period last year

The number of kidnappings this year has fallen to six, and three attempted kidnappings were aborted. 31 kidnapping suspects were detained.

In the fight against kidnap gangs. Nyusi called for greater coordination between the police force, the Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic), the Attorney-General’s Office and the courts, but within the limits of the separation of powers.

He claimed that the public is not interested in knowing who is responsible for the insecurity caused by the kidnappings, but it wants to see solutions.

The kidnappings of businessmen in Mozambican cities also featured prominently in the debates on Wednesday in the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic. The parliamentary group of the main opposition party, Renamo, demanded to know what action the government was taking to staunch the wave of kidnappings.

The Renamo deputies were speaking within days of two aborted kidnappings in the capital. In one case, the owner of a textile shop escaped abduction because passers-by attacked the would-be kidnappers.

Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda told the Assembly that “the crime of kidnapping, despite the government’s attempts to fight against it, suggests the need for a new reflection involving all the stakeholders from the legislative, executive and judicial branches of power, to solve the problem in a more adequate, appropriate and effective manner”.

Three years ago, Nyusi had announced the creation of an anti-kidnapping unit, but it has still not seen the light of day. The general director of the Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic), Nelson Rego, says that studies and strategies are being drawn up prior to the introduction of this special unit.

Now Ronda is proposing a completely different approach, a “joint reflection” that would involve the police, the intelligence service (SISE), Sernic, prosecutors and judges.

He said that, although the number of kidnappings has fallen, and the number of arrests has risen, his Ministry was concerned that the courts are releasing suspects. In his view, the police arrest suspected kidnappers and the courts let them go.

Indeed, over the years the police have frequently accused the courts of failing to cooperate in the fight against organized crime – and judges have often retorted that the police do not produce sufficient evidence to justify keeping the suspects behind bars.

Ronda added that the government is also prioritizing cooperation with neighbouring countries, in exchanging information, and in joint operations against criminal gangs.

Kidnapping has proved a lucrative business. According to calculations by the Confederation of Mozambican Business Associations (CTA), made public in February, the ransoms extorted from the families of kidnap victims up until then had amounted to 2.2 billion meticais (about 34 million US dollars).

(AIM)

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