A Portuguese businessman has been murdered in Mozambique after his kidnapping and subsequent payment of a ransom, reported the Secretary of State for Portuguese Overseas Communities, José Luís Carneiro.
The victim has lived and worked in Mozambique for eight years in the civil engineering sector.
Carneiro explained, that, after being abducted and after a ransom had been paid, he was found dead in the outskirts of Maputo
“We do not see links with other cases that have been occurring, in the north of the country or in the jurisdiction of Beira. In this case, let us wait for the investigations, but it is the result of a kidnapping and the demand of a payment to free the citizen. The payment was made, but he was still murdered by the criminals,” Carneiro told the Lusa news agency.
The Portuguese government already has expressed its “concern, because it is a very serious situation.”
José Luís Carneiro noted that the events in Mozambique, “do not contribute to the confidence of the investors in the country, because the Portuguese are essential for the economic development of the country, creating thousands of jobs.”
The Portuguese government has expressed its “full availability” and so did the Portuguese embassy in Maputo, to help the family, “legal proceedings are under way and complaints have been lodged with the Mozambican authorities,” who are investigating the case.
Support has also been provided by the Portuguese government in providing the necessary documents to the Mozambican Public Prosecutor’s Office and to carry out, if necessary, the repatriation of the body, as the family has requested.
