Author: Maka Angola

Protesters in Quibaxe Demand the Resignation of Police Commander

Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of people joined the funeral procession to bid farewell to Estêvão Venâncio, 24 years old, shot dead by a police officer while on his motorbike, in Dembos, the Northern province of Bengo. The funeral was also turned into a peaceful protest against police violence. On July 20, Estêvão Venâncio, 24 years old, was going home from school on his motorbike when he was intercepted by National police officers in Quibaxe, the main village of the municipality of Dembos. According to information given by his cousin, Neves Luciano Ganga, “we don’t know exactly what happened. An officer shot Estêvão at point blank range, hitting him between the heart and lung. Estêvão died instantly.” Neves Luciano Ganga also added that “the same bullet hit the pillion passenger, a young student who was getting a lift and was sitting behind Estêvão.” According to his statement, corroborated by other sources, the […]

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Chinese Couple Present Diplomas to Angolan Presidential Guards

A Chinese couple has had the honor of presenting diplomas to officers and soldiers of the Angolan Presidential Guard. The recipients of the diplomas had completed a 45-day military course at the Angolan presidency’s prestigious Chacal Instruction Center. Maka Angola obtained a lengthy video of the ceremony, which took place on August 15, 2014, during the celebrations of the ninth anniversary of the Central Detachment for Protection and Security of the Intelligence Bureau of the President (known as DCPS/CSPR).  The prominence accorded at the ceremony to Mr Wan, a construction contractor, and his love interest raises concerns about protocol within the Angolan Armed Forces and, by extension, in the presidency. No civilian authorities were in attendance at the ceremony. A snapshot of the video has been edited for public view, and this portal has asked for an expert opinion. The executive-secretary of the Intelligence Bureau of the President and commander […]

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Journalist Banned from Practicing in Cunene Province

On 7 January, the provincial government of Cunene informed journalist Paulo Kuza that he was to cease all professional activity in the province for an indeterminate length of time. According to Mr Kuza, the provincial director of Information, Faustino Ndasuamba, handed him the ban during a meeting they had. Last December, the journalist joined the staff of Rádio Despertar, the only radio station to openly criticize the government. The station has been transmitting on FM to the greater Luanda area since 2006, as part of the Peace Agreement between the government and the former rebel movement UNITA. Stunned by the information Rádio Despertar called the provincial director to confirm the ban. Maka Angola heard a recording of the telephone conversation between the deputy director of Rádio Despertar, Queirós Anastácio Chilúvia, and Faustino Ndasuamba. The provincial director confirmed that he had held a meeting with Mr Kuza.  In a language reminiscent […]

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Online Protest in Memory of Activist Ganga

Maria José Vitorino de Carvalho has one mission in life: to demand justice for the political assassination of her eldest son, Manuel Hilbert de Carvalho Ganga, who was shot twice in the back and killed by a member of the Presidential Security Unit (USP) on November 23, 2013. Maria José Vitorino de Carvalho believes that it is her right, as a mother and citizen, to demand justice. As a grandmother she feels that she has a responsibility, in time, to explain to her 3 year old grandson, Uriel Tomás, the efforts made by the family in the face of the impunity of the murderer and those who ordered the execution of his father. On the mother’s request, Maka Angola and Club-K are currently promoting a photographic protest online in memory of Ganga. Citizens who wish to express their solidarity with the victim’s family, those who wish to fully exercise their […]

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Angolan Vice-President Vicente’s Illegal Business Role

Angolan Vice-President Manuel Vicente is facing a criminal complaint over business dealings that are allegedly contrary to Angolan laws that govern the private affairs of the highest government officials. The case, brought by journalist and human rights defender Rafael Marques de Morais, refers in particular to Vicente’s role in China Sonangol International Holding, a majority Chinese-owned private company. Marques presented the complaint to the Angolan Attorney General on Thursday, August 8. The complaint calls on the authorities to initiate impeachment proceedings against Vicente. It cites Article 138 of the Angolan Constitution, which states that positions of Ministers of State, Ministers, Secretaries of State and Deputy Ministers are incompatible with “any administrative functions, management or any corporate position in companies and other purposes of an economic nature.” The complainant told Maka Angola that Manuel Vicente’s involvement with Chinese interests at a time when he was already vice-president-elect would cause him to […]

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General Zé Maria’s Partisan Plot to Destabilize the Army

For the last few months the head of Angola’s Military Intelligence and Security Service (SISM), General António “Zé” Maria, has created a secret discussion group aimed at fostering a climate of instability within the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), in such a way as to justify purges. This strategy is known as the “purification of the FAA”. The scheme also aims to divert attention away from the ever-deteriorating socio-economic situation of most Angolan citizens and the government’s inability to deal with it. It also serves as a distraction from the uncertainty over when and how President dos Santos will relinquish power. Maka Angola has learnt from insiders that the other main participants in the discussion group are the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Patriotic Education, General Egídio de Sousa Santos “”Disciplina””, and Lieutenant-General João António Santana “Lungo” of the Security Studies Office within the Intelligence Bureau of the Presidency. […]

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Witchcraft, Police, the MPLA and the murder of a traditional headman.

On May 14, the Provincial Court of Moxico, in Eastern Angola, delivered a landmark verdict against vigilante justice, based on accusations of witchcraft, which is prevalent in that region. Judge Pereira da Silva sentenced both the head of the ruling party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) for the municipality of Cangamba, Alberto Tchinongue Catolo, and a local traditional authority (Soba) Cangamba, António Kanguia Candimbo, to six years in prison, for ordering the lynching of Soba Augusto Chimbidi. The judge also convicted the municipal commander of the National Police in Cangamba, Manuel N’doje Ijita Cawina to two months in prison for his part in the witchcraft séance plot, which served to justify the mob assassination of Augusto Chimbidi. In his ruling, the judge concluded that the police commander did not take part in ordering the killing, but that he had prevented his police officers from stopping the […]

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Minister of Interior Protects the Corrupt

A recent Angolan government report uncovered a network of corruption within the Office for Immigration and Foreigners (known by its Portuguese acronym SME), such as issuing illegal work visas to the value of over US$90 million, not a cent of which entered state coffers. Having seen the report, the Minister of Interior, Ângelo de Barros Veiga Tavares, took disciplinary action against those responsible. Yet the national director and the deputy national director of SME, as well as other key players in the corrupt scheme, have not lost their jobs, and so far, no legal proceedings have been initiated.     An audit undertaken by the Ministry of Interior, beginning on November 6, 2013, revealed that a network of 14 people, led by the national director of SME, José Paulino da Silva, illegally issued over 14,000 work visas in just one year. According to the report, the network was charging between […]

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Illegal Visas Worth More Than US $90 Million

Within a year, senior staff at the Angolan Office for Immigration and Foreigners (known by the Portuguese acronym SME) issued more than 14,000 work visas, at a unit cost of between US$5,000 and US$15,000, with absolutely no revenue entering state coffers.   The operation has earned over US$90 million for the corrupt officials and nothing for the State. This information is part of an audit of the SME conducted by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), and delivered to the Minister of the Interior on February 6 past. Maka Angola saw the report. The investigation was opened on the November 6, 2013, by order of the Minister of the Interior, Ângelo de Barros Veiga Tavares, and its aim was to verify “how certain decisions were taken by the Ministry of the Interior, with regard to correcting irregularities, flaws and anomalies noticed in the investigation into the Office […]

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