Isabel dos Santos, the Princess-President?

I have never been taken in with fables. One such fairytale it that the current vice-president of Angola, Manuel Vicente, would succeed President José Eduardo dos Santos, who has been in power for 36 years. I always believed that the power would be eventually transferred to the son-prince José Filomeno dos Santos, whom the father appointed as head of Angola’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. What did I see recently? The daughter-princess Isabel dos Santos was posing next to Nicki Minaj the US rapper of Anaconda fame. What business does this billionaire egg vendor, as Isabel once claimed to have been, have to do there? This is a kind of exposure that does not benefit her image as a manager or businesswoman. In any case, President Dos Santos recently appointed his billionaire daughter to lead the Luanda Metropolitan Master Plan, to revamp the capital city. The father gave a seat to the […]

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Nair’s Death

I have often asked myself about the cost of a human life in Angola. Nair’s death pained me, but it was the pain of someone who is powerless and not able to do anything about it. In the last few days, I have been following the tragedy of a mother.   After Nair complained of headache and a backache, her mother took her to Samba Healthcare Center in Luanda. Tests were carried out and turned out positive for malaria. The staff at the clinic decided to give her a combined doze of Coartem and Paracetamol. She was also given two packets of serum “to drink at will” and folic acid.  After that, they sent her home. The family concluded that the treatment was not sufficient and, on the same day, went to the David Bernardino Pediatric Hospital. Here the doctor ordered a test in the laboratory for sickle cell anemia. The doctor […]

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Welcome to Angola, Nicki Minaj

Dear Nicki, I welcome you to Angola. I am a journalist and human rights defender who has been at the forefront of exposing the dictatorial ills of the regime, whose first daughter and princess of state-looting, Isabel dos Santos, is your host. Moments ago I received a message on my cell phone, from an UNITEL operator  offering me a ticket to your concert tomorrow with the purchase of a 900 kwanzas (US $4.50) phone credit. That is for your concert “for the people” in the Coqueiros Stadium, with a capacity of 20,000 people.  UNITEL is the company jointly owned by Isabel dos Santos and the Angolan state, which is paying your fees. In spite of all the advertising campaigns undertaken by UNITEL to promote your concert “for the people”, sales have been in a slump. At 900 kwanzas per ticket, the concert is basically free, yet people are still not […]

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The Regime Turnaround on the Release of 15 Political Prisoners

There are slightly encouraging signs that the Angolan government is coming to terms with the damage it has inflicted upon itself by investing all its powers in making up evidence to prove that the detained 15 young activists were preparing acts of rebellion and attempting to assassinate President Dos Santos, by plotting to burn tires in the presidential palace. Sadly, it has taken extreme gestures such as Sedrick de Carvalho, one of the accused, threatening to commit suicide, for common sense to prevail. The attorney general, Army General João Maria de Sousa, announced yesterday, during a press conference, that the prosecution appealed to the judge to end the 177 days pre-trial detention of the youths, and replace it with house arrest, under the new Law on Preventive Measures on Penal Processes. Defense lawyer David Mendes told the Portuguese news agency Lusa, that the measure is illegal “because the law is not […]

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Detained Angolan Journalist Threatens to Commit Suicide in Protest

Detained Angolan journalist Sedrick de Carvalho has written a letter, from the São Paulo Prison, threatening to commit suicide in protest against his 176 days of unlawful detention, culminating in a sham trial which started on November 16. In an open letter to the public, the 26 year-old journalist reveals that, during his six months in detention, he spent more than 2,000 hours straight in solitary confinement without being able to see daylight. He says this is a deliberate strategy by the Angolan authorities, to drive the prisoners insane  with psychological torture, humiliation and other abuses. “I regret to say that from now on I will refuse any further visits, to prevent any efforts that my family (wife, little daughter, parents and siblings) may undertake to convince me to back down on my decision, Sedrick de Carvalho writes in his open letter. “ I am also announcing that I am […]

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The Unfair Trial and the Unjust Minister

In the face of what is turning out to be the trial that is defining the true nature of the Angolan state, the Minister of Justice, Rui Mangueira, and his colleagues went on a spirited international public relations offensive. His main argument was that by citing the country’s recurring human rights abuses, ill-intentioned people were defaming Angola’s good name abroad. In Angola, the trial of young activists accused of preparing a rebellion and an attempt on the president’s life has been going on for the last three weeks.  Someone in the Angolan government seems bent on permanently staining its good name. The accused have been treated so poorly that they are suggesting they may go on a collective hunger strike if their trial is drawn out. Of the 17 accused, only nine have been heard so far in the 15 daily sessions. The activists have certainly not turned out to […]

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President Dos Santos Illegally Inflates Daughter’s Fortune

Recently, Maka Angola published an article about Isabel dos Santos’ purchase of 65% of Portuguese power solutions company Efacec, for 200 million Euros. In reaction, the Portuguese weekly, Expresso, published a front-page article saying a large part of the money used by Winterfell to buy Efacec was financed by a Portuguese bank. This article was an attempt to dispel suspicions about the dubious source of the money.  The article raised more doubts as it became clear that the Angolan government financed the other part of takeover. The interested parties rushed the deal, and settled it on October 23. The banks that financed this “large part” are Caixa Geral de Depositos, the BCP, BPI, Montepio and BIC, according to an official press release. BCP, BPI, Montepio and BIC are dominated by Angolan capital; that is, Isabel dos Santos and Sonangol.  Therefore, this is a situation in which banks lend money to […]

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Rapper Calls in Court for End of Dos Santos 36-Year Rule

The rapper and activist Luaty Beirão, one of the seventeen accused in Luanda with preparing a rebellion, said Angola is a “pseudo-democracy” and once again called for the president to step down. Beirão is the seventh activist that Judge Domingos Januário has questioned in the twelve sessions of the trial that have been held at the Luanda Provincial Court. The judge asked several questions and the examination will continue today. Luaty Beirão denied before the court that the meetings the group used to have, from May until the detentions in June, were meant to promote violent acts to overthrow the president.  He said the gatherings were solely academic discussions around a book, and that there were no personal political agendas. Beirão criticized what he called Angolan “pseudodemocracy” and repeated calls he has been making since 2011 for the resignation of President José Eduardo dos Santos whom he called a dictator […]

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Princess Isabel dos Santos and the Looting of Angola

Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos recently gave an interview to the BBC to talk about some of the challenges Angolans face. The Princess, as she as referred to in Angola, is one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in the world, according to BBC. She said one of the main challenges that Angola faces is educating its people. President José Eduardo dos Santos’ daughter came across as being quite well-informed and pleasant: the beautiful face of the dictatorship. I do not doubt Isabel’s intelligence; however, I am not taken in for minute with this fairytale they are trying to impose on us. What is behind the success of this daughter of Angola’s almost life-President? There is this myth that her fortune can be traced to when, as a a six-year old child, she started selling eggs. The business, goes the myth, apparently grew from there. During a case in […]

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