The Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) has asked the government to resort to international co-operation to combat the kidnappings that have been taking place in the country, claiming that “the police have not been able” to stop them.
“When we talk about help, we really think about international co-operation, bearing in mind that other countries have experienced this type of situation and have already worked to stop the problem. What we have noticed is that, in fact, there is a weak response to this issue,” said the organisation’s spokesperson, Zuneid Calumia.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday 31 January, he pointed to the existence of “a certain incapacity on the part of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique, given that it had no reaction to a recent attempt to kidnap a furniture shop manager in Maputo”.
“At times, the population was better [at preventing kidnappings] than the police themselves, who were just a few metres away from the crime scene. Many businesspeople are leaving the country and disinvesting because of crime,” he said.
According to Zuneid Calumia, many businessmen have called for a halt to economic activities in solidarity with the kidnap victims, but the CTA insists on dialogue with the government to identify and implement solutions to the problem.
In November, Mozambique’s Central Office for Combating Organised and Transnational Crime (GCCOT) brought charges against three defendants allegedly involved in the kidnapping and death of a 57-year-old man in December 2022.
