Maputo, Oct. 8, 2025 (Lusa) - Mozambican business leaders on Wednesday described the recent kidnapping of a Portuguese citizen in Maputo, the sixth such incident this year, as a "major blow" to the country's economic recovery efforts, calling on the government to quickly clarify the situation and take action.
The Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) of Mozambique said in a statement that this new kidnapping "is a major blow to the economic recovery efforts that investors and businesspeople from various backgrounds have been making to lift the country out of economic stagnation," noting that this is the sixth such case recorded this year.
The case in question is the kidnapping of a Portuguese businessman on Tuesday morning in downtown Maputo, in front of his commercial establishment, by a group of four people, still unidentified, who were travelling in a white car without a number plate, the first such case publicly known since June.
For the CTA business confederation, this incident "exacerbates investors' fears" about directing their investments in the country, stating that insecurity, terror and instability "are weapons that undermine a healthy and attractive business environment for investment".
" The CTA deplores the fact that this criminal kidnapping of the Portuguese businessman (...) is taking place at a time when, in the context of public-private dialogue, the main barriers to investment are being identified," it says, pointing out that the 2025 edition of the Annual Private Sector Conference is also in preparation, which aims to put the country back in the spotlight of major international investors.
The confederation urges the authorities, in particular the police forces, to "make every effort and use all intelligence measures to quickly clarify this case" and the "urgent and safe return of the businessman", also calling for the "total dismantling of all networks responsible for kidnapping and abduction crimes, for the immediate restoration of confidence and security in the business environment" in Mozambique.
"The CTA urges the Government of Mozambique to implement immediate measures, within the scope of its powers, to definitively end the climate of fear, terror and insecurity that characterises the environment in which our business community lives, including the spread of acts of terrorism affecting the province of Cabo Delgado," it adds.
The Mozambican Government says it has been informed of the kidnapping of the Portuguese businessman in Maputo and is awaiting action by the police forces, highlighting progress in controlling this type of crime in the country.
In a “verbal note” sent to diplomatic missions and international organisations in the country, the Embassy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Mozambique confirmed that the 69-year-old Portuguese citizen is married to the Chargé d'Affaires of that representation and is awaiting the outcome of this case.
The Mozambican police said on Tuesday that "multisectoral teams" had been dispatched to the city of Maputo and its surroundings to locate the businessman, who also has Mozambican nationality.
This is the first publicly known case since 21 June, when a Lebanese citizen, owner of a pharmacy, was kidnapped inside his shop in central Maputo. In February, a Portuguese-Mozambican was kidnapped by a group of four armed individuals in Polana Caniço, also in Maputo.
On 12 June, Mozambican police authorities announced that the number of kidnappings in Maputo had fallen by half in the first five months of the year, with four cases compared to eight in the same period in 2024.
By March 2024, the Mozambican police had recorded a total of 185 kidnappings and at least 288 people had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in this type of crime since 2011, according to the latest data released by the ministry of the interior.
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