The purchaser of 18 bicycles seized by police in the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane has categorically denied that the bikes were intended to support the Inhambane mayoral by-election campaign of the opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM). The owner, South African citizen Sean Lange, is adamant that they are simply the central part of his efforts to open a bike hire business in Tofo, one of Inhambane’s best-known tourist resorts.According to Lange, who spoke from Tofo by phone, Tofo is a compact area where tourists could easily move around by bicycle. He therefore decided to team up with local businessman Paulo Ernesto Pedro, to build a shop where they could rent out bikes.Lange told the business has all the necessary licences, which have been paid for and issued. He stated that he put in a purchase order for 18 bicycles from a fully legal company in Chimoio called Baisikeli.Baisikeli is a Danish based company that rents out bikes in the capital city, Copenhagen, but also sends old bikes to Mozambique and Sierra Leone where they are repaired and sold. So far, the company has exported 3,500 bikes.In Mozambique the company has a workshop in Chimoio, and works in close cooperation with the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and the Danish authorities in Maputo.The company’s spokesperson in Copenhagen, Henrik Smedegaard Mortensen, confirmed to AIM that the 18 bicycles were legally imported into Mozambique in June 2011.It seems that the problems arose when attempting to transport the bikes to Tofo. Mortensen states that a Danish citizen was hired by Baisikeli to deliver the bikes from Chimoio to Tofo.
However, the driver and a representative of Baisikeli, Stefan Lars Edlund, were stopped en route by police in the town of Massinga. They were taken to Inhambane, where the truck and bikes have been impounded.Despite the story only appearing in the daily newspaper “Noticias” on Monday, Lange states that the truck was stopped weeks ago, and that he has lost vital business over the Easter holiday because he has no bikes.Both “Noticias” and the independent television station STV reported suspicions that the bicycles were intended to support the MDM – although the police refused to confirm or deny this rumour. Lange said that the rumour of a link to the MDM is not true. He lamented that “in reality, it was just us trying to set up a business”.The police say the Danish citizen driving the truck was detained because he is living illegally in Mozambique, since his identification and residence permit for foreigners (DIRE) expired in 2008. The police also claimed he had no documents on the ownership and import of the bikes.
However, the driver and a representative of Baisikeli, Stefan Lars Edlund, were stopped en route by police in the town of Massinga. They were taken to Inhambane, where the truck and bikes have been impounded.Despite the story only appearing in the daily newspaper “Noticias” on Monday, Lange states that the truck was stopped weeks ago, and that he has lost vital business over the Easter holiday because he has no bikes.Both “Noticias” and the independent television station STV reported suspicions that the bicycles were intended to support the MDM – although the police refused to confirm or deny this rumour. Lange said that the rumour of a link to the MDM is not true. He lamented that “in reality, it was just us trying to set up a business”.The police say the Danish citizen driving the truck was detained because he is living illegally in Mozambique, since his identification and residence permit for foreigners (DIRE) expired in 2008. The police also claimed he had no documents on the ownership and import of the bikes.
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