Category: Politics

The young Angolan activists, on trial on charges of rebellion, used the courtroom to continue with their protest against the regime; yesterday they walked barefoot and had messages on their prison uniforms. The public applauded when the young “Revus” [revolutionaries] as they are known, were brought in, and one of them, Benedito Jeremias, had a prison t-shirt with the following inscription on the back “In dubio pro reo” (The principle that one is innocent until found guilty.) Like his 14 detained fellows — and two young females accused of the same crime but who have waited for trial under conditional freedom — Benedito has been detained since June on charges of preparing for rebellion, and making an attempt on the president’s life. The charges are punishable by up to three years — and allow for the accused to be free on bail while waiting for trial. Dressed in the usual […]

The trial of 17 Angolan political prisoners has been set for 16 November. Although Luaty Beirão and Domingos da Cruz have featured the most prominently in media reports, there are others who deserve to be mentioned. Manuel Nito Alves,       Nuno Dala,       Mbanza Hamza,       José Hata,       Sedrick de Carvalho,       Fernando Tomás (Nicolas Radical),       Benedito Jeremias (Dito),         Arante Kivuvu         Albano Bingo Bingo       Osvaldo Caholo,       Inocêncio Brito (Drux),     Hitler Jessy Chiconde (Itler Samussuku),     Nelson Dibango,     Rosa Conde (Zita),     Laurinda Gouveia (Lau).   History has already passed judgment on these youths: they are a symbol of the Angolan yearning for freedom; they are new heroes that, over the centuries, have been filling the glorious pantheon of […]

There is an enormous controversy among Angolan legal experts about the ways in which President José Eduardo dos Santos could intervene in the case of the 17 youths charged with plotting to overthrow the government and assassinate him. Those ruling out a presidential intervention cite the principle of the separation of powers: the president is head of the executive and is not, therefore, able to instruct the judiciary. This argument is not valid. The principle of the separation of powers has not been enshrined in the Angolan constitution; what exists is a separation of functions or duties. (Art. 105. No 3).  These have to operate inter-dependently — that is, through the constitutional mechanisms  of checks and balances.  This means that the president has to respect the constitution, but he can also, within the stated limits, intervene in the different power centers. He also has the duty of always defending the main […]

The trial of 15 peaceful activists who have been held unlawfully for almost five months and charged with preparing “rebellion and a coup attempt” will be a crucial test for the independence of Angola’s judiciary, said Amnesty International ahead of their expected court appearance on 16 November 2015. The 15 men were arrested and detained by Angolan security forces between 20 and 24 June 2015 in Luanda after attending a meeting to discuss politics and governance concerns. Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience and it is calling for their immediate and unconditional release. “The continued detention of the 15 activists amounts to a travesty of justice as they have been arrested solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of association and expression,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa. “The charges against them must be dropped and state authorities must ensure their immediate […]

President José Eduardo dos Santos’s tightening stranglehold on freedom of expression in Angola and his government’s decades of fear and repression will cast an indelible stain on the 40th anniversary of the country’s independence, said Amnesty International today. As dignitaries and foreign leaders gather in the capital Luanda to mark four decades of independence, at least 16 activists continue to languish in Angolan jails. “40 years after independence, many Angolans still have a long way before they realise their human rights freedoms. Those who express views that differ from those of the regime are subjected to brutal treatment. Independence should also be about people being allowed to freely express themselves,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa. “Many human rights defenders are suffering in jail merely for asking for accountability and respect for human rights. The state is using police and the judiciary to entrench fear and […]

The Angolan university lecturer, Domingos da Cruz, whose work is cited in an indictment as the cause for the June detention of 15  activists in Luanda, does not believe coup d’états are a viable form of overthrowing dictatorships. In his manuscript, Tools to Destroy a Dictatorship and Avoiding a New Dictatorship – Philosophy for the Political Liberation of Angola” the author, who has been indicted of organising a rebellion by holding weekly political seminars, defends the change of the regime through non-violent means, and not through violence. In the second chapter of the manuscript, the da Cruz writes that often an oppressed people will turn to the army to bring down a dictatorship but notes clearly that this is not wise. “We are dealing with a situation that is not certain and clear. We should always bear in mind that the military are a crucial pillar in the structures supporting a […]

The manuscript of  Angolan academic Domingos da Cruz, one of the prisoners of conscience in Luanda, defends peaceful actions against totalitarianism. The Portuguese press agency Lusa had access to the manuscript Tools to Destroy a Dictatorship and Avoiding a New Dictatorship – Political Philosophy for the Liberation of Angola, of Domingos da Cruz whose work is based on the ideas of the American academic Gene Sharp. According to the indictment of October 15 from the Luanda Provincial Court, the  reading sessions of  Domingos da Cruz’s work were a threat to state security. “It was at these meetings that the participants decided to fight against the so-called dictator, overthrowing and substituting those in charge of the sovereign bodies of the state, and drafting a new constitution,” says the charges  about the activities around the book whose author insists deals with non-violent mechanisms. “I can’t make any claims to the ideas contained […]

João Domingos da Rocha, 28 years old, has been held at Luanda Central Penitenciary under preventive detention for seven years. He is suspected of having stolen a bundle of  second-hand clothes.  I learnt of this case through the political prisoners Benedito Jeremias “Dito” and Itler Jessy Chiconde who had been held at the same prison. On one hand there is Luaty Beirão who has been drawing much international solidarity to the cause of freedom of expression in Angola through his hunger strike, which lasted 36 days.  On the other hand, there is the case of “Dito” and Itler who, days before, were tortured by prison guards.  This is a clear instance of the cruelty of the judicial system in the way it treats the disenfranchised members of society. “Dito”, Itler and Luaty, as well as the other 12 in prison, are awaiting trial while under preventive detention.  They have been […]