Thought Crime in Angola

12 de October de 2015 Rui Verde, MakaAngola Legal Analyst

In Angola thinking is a crime. This is what can be concluded from the 39 articles in the charges against the most famous political prisoners of our times, in Angola. The essence of the charges are based on a simple technicality. Since there were no facts or evidence to produce a “serious charge,” even if it had to do with intention to commit a crime, the publica prosecution came up with “preparatory acts.” The fact is that preparatory acts are usually not punishable. These acts are only punishable in very special cases such as an attempt on the life of the President of the Republic. In this way, the young people who were meeting to exchange ideas have been charged with making an attempt on the President’s life and with rebellion because there is no crime to speak of. Therefore, the judicial authorities had to turn to exceptional accusations resting […]

Luaty: My Hero

11 de October de 2015 Rafael Marques de Morais

Luaty’s life is at risk. He has been on hunger strike for 21 days. This is his way of protesting against being detained and abused for more than 100 days, due to a coercive measure put in place by President dos Santos’s attorney general. I fully understand Luaty’s lonely struggle in this regime’s decision makers’ hour of madness. I understand all the better because I went through a similar experience in 1999 when I was arrested for calling this same president “corrupt” and a “dictator”. I spent 14 days on hunger strike. Why do I mention this? Because sometimes you have to remember past cases to assess the conduct of those who fight for freedom, and the behaviour of those who oppress us: in this case, the President’s men. When I was led to a cell of the Central Forensic Laboratory, adjoining the Santana Cemetery, the then director of the […]

Amnesty Calls on Angola to Release Detained Activists

8 de October de 2015 Administrador

Human rights group Amnesty International has renewed efforts to secure the release of 16 Angolan activists, including rapper Luaty Beirão, who have been in detention for over 100 days, after being arrested and charged with planning to attack and oust Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos. Beirão is currently on his 17th day of a hunger strike and is already in critical condition. If convicted, the activists face up to 12 years in prison. Amnesty International’s deputy director for southern Africa, Noel Kututwa said holding the activists in detention was “another attempt by the Angolan authorities to intimidate anyone who has a differing view in the country”. “The authorities must immediately and unconditionally release the detained activists, who are prisoners of conscience, and stop intimidating human rights activists,” Kututwa said in a statement. According to Amnesty, the activists had been attending a meeting concerning human rights violations and governance issues, […]

Human rights

Youth Activists Charged with Rebellion and Coup Plotting

7 de October de 2015 LUSA

The Angolan activist Rafael Marques told Lusa (Portuguese News Agency) this week that the charge of “rebellion” against the youths who have been detained in Luanda is a sign of desperation on the part of the Angolan authorities. “The charges did not surprise me because anything can be expected from a regime is so unpredictable and erratic,” said Mr Marques, who met the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield this week in Washington. “This charge shows that the authorities are increasingly desperate”, he said. The Angolan public prosecutor’s office charged 17 youth activists with preparing to rebel and to overthrow the president of the republic by attending workshops on barricading the streets and civil disobedience. According to the charges, which Lusa had access to, “the accused were planning to overthrow the legitimate bodies of sovereignty, create what they called a National Salvation Government and to write […]

The Emergence of Fascism in Angola

4 de October de 2015 Rafael Marques de Morais

Allard Prize acceptance speech, Vancouver, Canada. I am deeply honored to be here today, at this great University of British Columbia’s Allard School of Law and most grateful for being selected the joint-recipient of the prestigious Allard Prize for International Integrity. Sharing this Prize with John Githongo, who has always been an inspiration to me, is humbling, and a double honor. I pay tribute to the finalists, the Indonesian Corruption Watch and the late Sergei Magnitsky, for their outstanding work. I dedicate the Prize to my family for their love and unconditional support. The journey I have taken to merit your recognition has a fine irony that I would like to share with you. In 2009, after I had finished a Master’s degree at Oxford University, I returned home, to Angola, with no prospects of getting a job. I had become more dangerous to the power holders for I had […]

Kenyan and Angolan Journalists Awarded Prize for Integrity

2 de October de 2015 Administrador

Two African journalists known for exposing corruption in their respective countries of Kenya and Angola have been named the joint recipients of the 2015 Allard Prize for International Integrity. The Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia presented John Githongo and Rafael Marques de Morais with the Allard Prize at a special ceremony last night. The $100,000 prize is one of the world’s largest awards recognizing efforts to combat corruption and to promote human rights. As joint recipients, Mr. Githongo and Mr. Marques de Morais were each awarded $50,000 for their brave efforts in protecting human rights and fighting corruption. “It is a singular honour and a humbling experience to be selected for the Allard Prize,” says Mr. Githongo. “This recognition serves as an encouragement and as an important recognition that there is across the world a partnership between all people who care about human […]

Cement Law Benefits a Few at Angolas Expense

1 de October de 2015 Rui Verde, MakaAngola Legal Analyst

There is a question so puzzling that is leaving many with open mouths. Why would a country rapidly trying to construct its infrastructure (which needs cement) suddenly ban the importation of the same material? The same country is not able to manufacture the product in the necessary quantities. This is a question that has been prompted by the recent investigation by Rafael Marques de Morais about the wheeling and dealing in the setting up of the cement manufacturer FCKS (Fábrica de Cimento do Kwanza Sul). A recent investigation by Rafael Marques de Morais, about the wheeling and dealing in the setting up the cement manufacturer FCKS (Fábrica de Cimento do Kwanza Sul), has prompted the abovementioned question. Every year, Angola needs about 7 million tonnes of cement, but the local production does not meet half of this amount. Therefore, many wondered about the rationale behind the Executive Decree no 15/14, […]

Corruption

Oil and Cement Dont Mix With Corruption in Angola

25 de September de 2015 Rafael Marques de Morais

Angolan business practices are under the microscope again after a US$800 million government-backed cement factory suspended production, and its recently dismissed CEO announced a sell-off of shares whose ownership is in question. An investigation by Maka Angola suggests the confusion surrounding the state of affairs at the Kwanza Sul Cement Factory (Fábrica de Cimento Kwanza Sul) can be traced directly to Angola’s ‘unique’ business practices under the current MPLA government, led for the past 36 years by President José Eduardo dos Santos. The Angolan colonel who founded the company has been sacked, the operating costs have become uneconomic and the Danish company LNS in charge of running the plant says it’s owed US$20 million in unpaid fees. Legal experts have told Maka Angola that the uncertain future of the Kwanza Sul Cement Factory (FCKS) is directly related to its tangled history. Ownership and finances as clear as mud The origins […]

Corruption

Attempts at Peaceful Protests are Now Undemocratic in Angola

24 de September de 2015 Maka Angola

The families of Angolan political prisoners are appealing against the decision of the Luanda Provincial Governor, Graciano Domingos, banning the protest and vigil set for the 26 of September. Graciano Domingos argued that the gathering would be undemocratic. This is yet another episode in the famous case of the young activists who were arrested last June on politically motivated charges that they were plotting a coup against President Dos Santos. The youth had assembled at a book club reading, and were discussing materials on non-violent strategies against repression when they were detained. “We would like to make it known that the case is still going through the appropriate legal procedures; therefore, we need to wait patiently for the final decision on the basis of the law, and for the defence of the accused on the basis of their constitutional rights,” the governor said. The law permits 90 days of preventive […]

Crisis in Angola Could Free Social Conscience and Lead to Change

17 de September de 2015 Rafael Marques de Morais

A few days ago a lawyer was complaining over dinner about the lack of official information on the economic crisis in Angola. She felt the government, or rather the president, ought to keep society informed about how the crisis is to be managed and dealt with. The conversation reminded us how Angolans need to reflect on current realities and become more aware of the disarray in which our society finds itself at the moment. For the first time in the history of independent Angola, all the political parties are ideologically feeble and incapable of imposing their vision of Angola onto society. But this means that also for the first time, Angolans have the opportunity to exercise citizenship rather than party-political activism. The middle level For the first time in many years, the economic crisis is starting to affect an important sector of the population. This is the middle level – […]

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