The following by member SimonT on the biggest 4x4 forum in South Africa : Scandalous Mozambican Police again. Just when you think it can’t get any worse – it gets worse. We now know that the mutterings of Renamo last year were only an election stunt, and too far from the tourist areas to affect you. The panga attack on Johan and Magda van der Meulen was the act of a deranged ex-employee and doesn’t threaten any other visitor. The robbery at Casa Lisa will undoubtedly happen again when a largish group of tourists assembles for a night at a spot conveniently close to the highway. But that won’t be until December and you can avoid largish groups of tourists. What you cannot escape is the predatory roadside police. They are hungry, greedy, armed and have the green light from above to rob you at their discretion. From interviews conducted over four months I conclude that you can expect to be pulled over every 50 kilometres, and in one out of every four encounters you will be fined 4000 mets for anything from being without a fire extinguisher to having an expired SA license disc. The procedure is they ask to see your driving license and then confiscate it pending payment. If you have insufficient cash they hold your family and vehicle hostage while you walk to an ATM to draw money. On the way back from the ATM you will be a potential victim of muggers who may be other police in plain clothes, or their relatives, advised by cell phone of your presence and your mission. Negotiating them down is possible only when the ATM is beyond walking distance, and then only after a lengthy evaluation of your financial situation. It is possible for a lucky few to run the gauntlet all the way to destination unscathed but I’ve not heard of anyone managing this twice. As the number of visitors decreases the remainder are hit that much harder to keep the cash yield to the police at the desired level. A policeman that I interviewed claimed that they were sometimes not paid for up to three months and were encouraged by their officers to supplement their income by looting South Africans. I can find no defence against this thievery and have myself been a victim almost every time I venture on the highway – this after nearly ten years in the country when I thought I knew my way around. With this criminality sanctioned from the top there is no one to appeal or complain to so I must just suggest that sensitive tourists avoid entering Mozambique for the foreseeable future. For those determined to come regardless – I suggest you carry plenty of cash.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 13:07:23 +0000
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