The phenomenon of kidnappings, which has plagued Mozambique for more than a decade, has already taken on alarming proportions. But this has not led to energetic action on the part of state institutions to combat the crimes. In fact, it seems certain that high-ranking people are involved in kidnapping syndicates and organized crime.

On Wednesday (07) of last week, the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, presented his latest report on the General State of the Nation. And in the chapter on kidnappings, regretted the lack of cooperation from the victims and their familieswho have been the biggest target.

A family member of a kidnap victim, who confessed to keeping quiet for several years, decided last Friday (09) to reveal how the state handled the particular case that befell her family.

He said that his father was kidnapped a few years ago as he was walking home from a mosque. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of 10 million dollars. He, the son, a highly influential individual - who was even a member of the Assembly of the Republic - sought help from high-ranking government officials.

At the time, in an attempt to solve the case, he spoke personally with the Commander General of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) and with the Prime Minister. He had around two dozen agents from the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) at his disposal. They came to his house at least twice a day to follow up on the investigations. He said that he gave SERNIC the kidnappers' contact details, but there was no solution. He turned to his contacts at the telephone companies, from whom he obtained what he needed to provide to the authorities. But this also did not result in any further significant progress on the part of the national authorities.

"After 18 days I came to the conclusion that I was wasting my time. I had the kidnapper's phone number. I gave all the indications [to the authorities]. But if the state doesn't do anything, what can I do?" asked Moulana Nazir.

The member of the Islamic community revealed that the state's lethargy led him to look for other alternative solutions.

"The first threat we received was for 10 million dollars. Today I'm opening up the game. I even contacted the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation]. I've contacted international intelligence, to free my father", she unveiled.

He said that the family paid the first installment to the kidnappers, "and the next day I got the call to go to SERNIC to reveal the amount of the payment".

What's more, the whistleblower claims that there are some high-ranking state elements in collusion with the kidnapping syndicate, and accuses the State Information and Security Service (SISE) of being ineffective in these types of cases. "This is true. It's the reality."

He was speaking during a meeting between the United Movement Against Organized Crime (MUCCO) and national justice institutions.

"We need to know how we're going to solve this problem. If you leaders want our help, we're ready to give it. We have always given and we will continue to do so. But we want a solution," he said.

Nazir noted that Mozambique, along with South Africa, areare the only countries in the region struggling to deal with kidnapping crimes. He gave the example of a kidnapping that took place in Malawi about two weeks ago and was immediately resolved.

He also said that the Indian embassy had been contacted to ask for help and "they were ready". He said that external intervention requires the consent of the state. "We have no response from the government of the day," not just for this Indian support, but from other states to introduce a mobile anti-rape operations platform in the country.

"I contacted the big states. They said they couldn't bring in a mobile platform without state authorization, because it's a state-to-state issue. And when the time came, I contacted several [Mozambican] individuals and they all said they couldn't give the license," he revealed. "This is the situation."

In his speech, the commander of the PRM in the city of Maputo thanked everyone for everything that had been said at the meeting, which will be used in the institution's operating guidelines. (Source: STV)