The president of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, acknowledged on Wednesday in Maputo that the fight against kidnapping crimes is still a challenge in the country and called on the police to bring their “principals” to light.
“To a certain extent, the cases of kidnapping [in the last five years] have been cleared up compared to previous periods, although we recognise that eradicating them is still a challenge for our National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) and other law and order bodies,” declared Filipe Nyusi, during the opening of the XXXIV Coordinating Council of the Ministry of the Interior, which took place today in Maputo.
Nyusi asked the police to present Mozambicans with the “principals” of kidnappings in the country, as one of the mechanisms to stop this type of crime.
“Bring in at least one mastermind, you’ll see that the narrative will change, because the masterminds are very fearful, we just have to take a certain measure and they’ll run away,” said the head of state, calling for increased attention from Sernic.
The Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) has recorded a total of 185 cases of kidnapping and at least 288 people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in this type of crime since 2011, the interior minister announced in March.
“Maputo shows the highest trend and incidence of criminal cases of kidnapping, followed by Maputo province and finally Sofala, with 103, 41 and 18 cases recorded, respectively,” said Mozambique’s Interior Minister, Pascoal Ronda, on 19 March.
Also, at the opening of the Interior Ministry meeting, Nyusi asked the Mozambican police to study clarified cases of drug trafficking to improve methods of preventing this type of crime.
“We are now catching and even clarifying cases. We’re catching people from the most complicated geographies, from the Americas, Europe, which means that the work exists and this has to be evaluated. Study these cases, it’s not just a matter of news and information, study them,” appealed Filipe Nyusi, pointing to the increase in drug seizures and the number of people arrested in connection with this type of crime.
“When a criminal of this nature appears, evaluate how he acted, use more time to study the person. Take them and study how they got the drugs, how they think, how they live, how they grew up, study their life to make it easier in future cases,” Nyusi insisted.
In his speech, the president also said that in the last five years, the number of police officers has increased because of more training, which has improved the quality of the services provided in protecting people and property.
“When there are only a few, they can’t do everything, and the increase in the number of police officers has resulted in a more visible police presence in the various arteries of towns and cities throughout the country, with an impact on the reduction of crime rates,” explained the head of state, noting that in the last five years, there has been population growth and the expansion of towns and cities, increasingly demanding a police presence to protect people and property.
“The other reason is that crime is becoming more sophisticated, but also, we have people who, when they reach a certain age, need to rest, and that’s normal. When people leave, there have to be others who occupy those spaces,” added Nyusi.
Lusa
