Maputo, May 18, 2026 (Lusa) – The president of Mozambique has demanded high vigilance from the police to prevent kidnappers from breaching the "security wall" established to combat kidnappings, with no cases reported in 2026, reaffirming that tackling this crime remains an absolute priority for the country.
“In these months when the situation has normalised, criminals are likely devising schemes to breach the security wall the state put up. It is essential to maintain a high level of vigilance against kidnappings,” warned Daniel Chapo in Maputo, during a ceremony marking the 51st anniversary of the national police force, on Sunday.
He said that while the results achieved in recent months were encouraging, the authorities must not rest on their laurels or assume that the crime had been consigned to history.
“The fight against kidnappings must remain an absolute priority (…). These recommendations are not directed solely at the police. They apply to all the forces and institutions that form part of the security framework for Mozambicans,” he said.
In April, Daniel Chapo said that police had not recorded any kidnappings for six months, emphasising that improved security boosts confidence and makes the country more attractive to domestic and foreign investment.
At least 40 people were arrested in 2025 for involvement in kidnappings, 14 of whom were convicted, the attorney general announced in April, suggesting that the victims’ bank accounts and assets be frozen to discourage such crimes.
For Amércio Letela, a measure allowing the freezing of assets linked to ransom payments, where there is strong evidence that these funds may be used to meet the financial demands of the perpetrators, could curb kidnappings, a crime of which 10 people were victims in 2025 and 15 in 2024.
Around 300 people involved in kidnapping cases have been arrested since the first recorded instances of these crimes in 2010, the spokesperson for the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) told Lusa on 23 October, explaining that this figure is only an estimate.
Over the past 12 years, around a hundred investors have left Mozambique out of fear, according to figures the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) released in 2024.
LN/MYAL // AYLS
Lusa
