MOZAMBIQUE – Reports on yesterday's march in Maputo are conflicting and although some claim that approximately 25 000 people took to the streets, no official figures were availabe.
Religious leaders and civil society groups organised the protest to demand an end to the abductions. Traffic was jammed as the streets of the city filled with people of all races and ages, who marched peacefully to the city centre. Lowvelder spoke to a protester, Ms Saffiyah Abdul, who said the people had been shocked and outraged at the latest report about the 13 year-old boy being kidnapped and then tortured to death because his parents could not pay the ransom.
“We are just so fed up that the government is not doing anything about this and the abductions are escalating.
This is spreading across all races and now they are targeting everyone, not only the rich.”
Abdul said that schools in the country now had armed guards watching over the pupils. She said people were leaving the country in huge numbers as they feared for the safety of their family members. “Nobody feels safe to go anywhere without an armed guard. However, people leaving the country, is not the solution.”
Mozambican Human Rights League head, Ms Alice Mabota, said the government had failed to tackle crime such as kidnapping and drug dealing. “If I were the interior minister, I would resign and get rid of the whole ministry, starting with the general police command,” she said. “The problem of drugs, weapons, kidnapping – all these are serious issues.” Interior minister Mr Alberto Mondlane said he was confident that all police criminals would be found and prosecuted. “One measure we are taking is to provide the police force working in this area with technical skills to investigate, find the suspects and gather material evidence to back the criminal process,” he said.
