On Monday 27 January, the Mozambican President asked the new police commander, after taking office, to step up the fight against kidnappings and terrorism. He also called for trust to be restored between society and the members of the police force as a way of fighting crime.
‘Each of you is aware that terrorism, kidnappings, money laundering, incitement to violence, violent demonstrations, compliance with illegal orders, disobedience and other types of crime are part of the more visible threats to order, so combating and eradicating them must be a priority,’ recommended Daniel Chapo, quoted by Lusa.
The head of state swore in the new commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), Joaquim Adriano Silva, replacing Bernardino Rafael, and called for a fight against organised crime in order to restore peace to the country’s citizens.
‘No result can be achieved without discipline, and since the PRM is a paramilitary institution whose discipline is vertical, it is up to you, dear commander, to instil discipline in its members, always bearing in mind that leadership produces better results,’ Daniel Chapo instructed.
The Mozambican President also asked the new police commander to be proactive, saying that he should be guided by the continuous analysis of various types of crime, including the identification of new threats.
‘We expect an increasingly humanised police force in which discipline and grooming are the dominant marks,’ Daniel Chapo appealed, promising to equip the Defence and Security Forces with the means to combat organised crime.
Among other roles, Joaquim Adriano Sive was provincial commander of the PRM in Cabo Delgado and Nampula. Speaking to the media after taking office, he promised to restore citizens’ trust in the police and to curb organised crime, especially kidnappings.
‘One of the pressing issues plaguing our society has to do with kidnappings. We will continue to fight this crime, certain that we have to count on capable people within our institution,’ said the new commander, promising public order and security to Mozambicans.
‘We have to regain the confidence of the population, because we can have police officers in their thousands, we can have enough vehicles, but if we don’t have the comfort and support of the population, we can do little or nothing,’ he concluded.
Around 150 businesspeople have been kidnapped in Mozambique in the last 12 years and a hundred have left the country out of fear, according to figures released in July 2024 by the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), which argues that it is time for the government to say ‘enough is enough’.
According to Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda, by March 2024 the police had recorded a total of 185 cases of kidnapping and the arrest of 288 people on suspicion of involvement in this type of crime since 2011.
