Tackling kidnappers in Madagascar

For years, kidnapping gangs have operated largely with impunity in Madagascar, targeting ‘Karanas’ of Indian origin

It happened five years ago but ‘Andre’ remembers being kidnapped at gunpoint like it was yesterday.

He was snatched from outside his home in Madagascar, kept captive and beaten for several days, until his desperate family raised the ransom money to secure his release.

For years, kidnapping gangs have operated largely with impunity in Madagascar, targeting “Karanas” of Indian origin, who form a 15,000-strong community renowned for its wealth and success in business.

Recent developments indicate authorities in the Indian Ocean island nation are beginning to crack down on gangs after a recent spike in attacks.

‘Andre’ spoke on condition of anonymity, telling AFP that discussing his ordeal publicly could put him and his family in danger again.

“Even today I am sick — as soon as I hear that there has been another kidnapping in town,” he said, also declining to reveal his profession.

In the last 10 years, at least 100 kidnappings have targeted Karanas in Madagascar, reaching a peak last year.

“From what we know, there have been 14 kidnapping cases since 2017, a record level,” said Jean-Michel Frachet, head of the Karana action group Collectif Francais d’Origine Indienne a Madagascar (CFOIM).

Frachet said that the real figure was higher still, as many families chose to keep silent.

Last year, the courts handed down unprecedented sentences of life terms with hard labour to 20 people found guilty of the 2015 abduction of two Karana teenagers. But many Karanas have left the country, but Andre says he will now stay.