Good afternoon. Have you noticed? Not a single kidnapping has been reported in Mozambique this year, to our knowledge. Only one kidnap victim is thought to be in captivity, the businessman Francisco Cêra, and he was kidnapped in October last year, the last successful kidnapping to date. By comparison, at this time last year, at least three kidnappings had been reported in the media since the start of 2025. There were ten kidnappings reported last year in all, compared to 32 in 2024.
The kidnappers have not given up, as shown by the violent shootout in Matola yesterday that left three people dead (one of whom was a passer-by). But they are now facing much more opposition than before. The suspected kidnappers that were shot yesterday were confronted by officers of the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic). Sernic seems to be handling kidnappings much better since it was removed from the control of the interior ministry and transferred to the Attorney-General’s Office last year. Without the interference of corrupt police officers, the force has a free hand to take much more vigorous action against kidnappers. The car chase yesterday was not the first of its kind. Whereas in the past kidnappings could be carried out near police posts and the perpetrators got away easily, now they are meeting resistance.
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Undoubtedly it is important that President Daniel Chapo has directed the justice system to deal with kidnappings as a priority, and has undertaken a cleanup of the relevant agencies. The replacement of Bernardino Rafael by Joaquim Sive as chief of police, and the replacement of Pascoal Ronda as interior minister by Paulo Chachine both made a difference. It must also be noted again that the kidnapping industry seems to have become more disorganised since the death of Momade Assif “Nini” Satar, suspected to be at the centre of kidnapping gangs, in prison in March last year.
