The owner of Mozambique’s largest wholesaler, COGEF group, has left the country. Rizwan Adatia was kidnapped in Mozambique in April and released 21 days later. Following further threats of violence he has now left the country.

Adatia chairs the COGEF group. The company’s major market is Mozambique, although it operates in nine countries and owns Sofia Group, a large FMCG distributor in DRC. It has 35 cash & carries, 190 stores, four factories and employs more than 3,500 people in nine African countries. In Mozambique, COGEF owns the snacks manufacturer SAB Products, the Recheio cash and carry chain, Jumbo supermarkets and online retailer MercadoMoz.com.

Since the beginning of 2020, Mozambican authorities have recorded a total of eight abductions. Several of these are wealthy Indian business owners. It reflects a worrying return to the period of 2012-2013, when kidnappings spiked in Mozambique.