Maputo, 25 Sep (AIM) – A group of motorcycle taxi drivers, in the southern Mozambican province of Gaza, have denounced a wave of attacks against their personal safety and property during a meeting with the National Transport Institute (INATRO).
The attacks, which include robberies and death threats, are especially affecting drivers in the districts of Limpopo, Chongoene, and Chókwè.
During a meeting in Xai-Xai City attended by over 100 motorcycle taxi operators alongside police, local authorities, and INATRO, drivers voiced deep concern for their safety.
The meeting followed the discovery of a missing driver’s body in the woods of Chilembene, an administrative post located in the Chókwè district, displaying severe signs of mutilation and missing body parts.
According to motorcycle taxi operator Gervásio Manave, cited by the independent paper “O país”, criminals are actively ambushing drivers to steal their motorcycles.
Other operators identified the areas of Mahumane and Baixa de Chicumbane as key high-risk zones, calling for immediate intervention from the police.
Drivers also pointed to the rise of unlicensed operators and underage drivers as contributing risk factors, demanding thorough police investigations into unresolved killings across the province.
In response, INATRO representative Alfeu Macaringue urged operators to organize into formal associations. Macaringue proposed implementing a real-time travel itinerary sharing system to help monitor routes and prevent abductions.
The security concerns come alongside rising road traffic risks in the region. According to official figures shared at the meeting, road traffic accidents in Gaza have claimed 43 lives this year, with 12 of the fatalities being motorcycle taxi drivers.
(AIM)
Zt/Am/
