Tag: José Eduardo dos Santos

Nito Alves: His Courage is our Salvation

By José Eduardo Agualusa   I have a 16-year-old son. When I read the news of the imprisonment of young Nito Alves, aged 17, I couldn’t stop thinking that this could have been my son. Some of my best friends were 16 or 17 when they were captured shortly after independence because of their links to small far-leftist groups. A regime that locks up teenagers for the crime of thinking, which is what this case is about, is a regime doomed to fail. A serious government, concerned with the development of the country, encourages young people to think. Young people capable of thinking for themselves, that is, of thinking differently, even to the extent of thinking against the dominant paradigms, must be encouraged and rewarded. A democratic society moves forward faster than a society in which the very source of new ideas is gagged by dictatorship. I cannot agree, and […]

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Angolan Kleptocracy Discussed at the European Parliament

Kleptocracy in Angola and the management of its natural resources were discussed today, October 3, at the European Parliament in Brussels. The director of Maka Angola, Rafael Marques de Morais, delivered the talk. The full text of the presentation is available here. The presentation was delivered at the conference “Raw Materials: A Raw Deal for Developing Countries?”, an initiative of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. In the same panel, the executive secretary general of the European External Action of the European Commission, Pierre Vimont, presented the common perspective of the European Union. The Portuguese Member of the European Parliament, Ana Gomes, moderated the debate.

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Dos Santos Picture Caused Arrest

In an expedited trial on Tuesday, Judge Josefina Pedro acquitted Manuel de Vitória Pereira, a senior official of the Bloco Democrático party, in the Luanda Police Court. Pereira had been arrested in his home neighbourhood on 19 September while distributing a party newsletter that had been published in July. An anti-government demonstration was taking place the same day on nearby Largo de Independência (Independence Square), but Pereira was detained alone, while walking in the opposite direction from where the demonstrators were supposed to gather three hours after his arrest. When the National Police spokesman, Commissioner Aristófanes dos Santos, refered to Pereira’s arrest, he referred to him only as “a member of the opposition” as if to prove that he was part of the demonstration. Meanwhile, the policeman who had arrested Pereira stated in court that he had made the arrest only because he had found a young man carrying one […]

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Minor Arrested for “Defaming” the President

Angolan police detained youth activist Manuel Civonda Baptista Nito Alves, 17, on Thursday, September 12, for allegedly defaming President José Eduardo dos Santos. The arrest took place in Luanda’s Viana district. “We went to Unit 45 of the National Police in Capalanca neighborhood, and the police told us my son had been detained when he went to fetch t-shirts for the Revolutionary Movement demonstration scheduled for September 19,” his father Fernando Baptista told Maka Angola. “The police officers told us he was detained for having committed the crime of defaming the President of the Republic,” the father added. “They asked us to go to the Municipal Directorate of Criminal Investigation tomorrow to get his case number.” Other activists in the Viana area told Maka Angola that Nito Alves had been detained in connection with the production of 20 t-shirts bearing the words “José Eduardo out! Nasty dictator.” On the back […]

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Sonangol Pays The Vice-President For His Private Maids’ Wages

The Angolan state oil company, Sonangol, pays the wages of the maids and housekeepers working at the private homes of Vice-President Manuel Vicente. Vicente, who was chairman of the board and CEO of Sonangol before entering politics, continues to receive the sum of US $ 43,212 each year from Sonangol for the payment of his maids. In January 2012, President José Eduardo dos Santos relieved Manuel Vicente of his duties at Sonangol and appointed him to the Ministry of Economic Coordination, with the rank of Minister of State. The ministry, created especially to accommodate Manuel Vicente, was abolished with his promotion to vice president in September 2012. Manuel Vicente, in addition to the perks and benefits attached to the post of vice president, is one of the richest men in Africa. The business empire that he shares with generals Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Júnior “Kopelipa” and Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento, frontman […]

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Dos Santos’ Son Shapes His Own Government

Speculation has been growing during the last few months on how José Filomeno dos Santos “Zenú”, one of the sons of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos “Zedú”, is being positioned as his successor to the presidency. What is not common knowledge is how Zenú has already been participating in the current management of government affairs. A recent example was the appointment, on May 6, of Armando Manuel, then economic advisor to President Zedú and chairman of the Angola Sovereign Wealth Fund, to the post of Finance minister. Initially, Zenú suggested to his father that Armando Manuel be considered for the position of chairman of the board of directors of Sonangol, the national oil company. Sources at the presidency told Maka Angola that José Eduardo dos Santos declined the request. He pointed out to his son the lack of technical capacity and political ability of Armando Manuel to manage the […]

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International NGOs Urge Attorney General to Drop Charges Against Journalist

Over a dozen democracy, human rights and anti-corruption groups have written to Angola’s Attorney General urging for an end to “politically-motivated” charges of defamation and libel against journalist and activist Rafael Marques de Morais. Mr. Marques de Morais has been summoned to answer charges of defamation following the publication of his book, “Blood Diamonds: Corruption and Torture in Angola”, which catalogues allegations of human rights abuse in Angola’s diamond areas. The complainants are civilian business partners of Angolan generals, the alleged perpetrators of the crimes outlined in the book. In a letter presented on Thursday, June 6, to Attorney General João Maria de Sousa, the group said: “We believe that the alleged charges of defamation and libel against Mr. Marques de Morais are politically motivated. The petitioners point out that the investigation process against Mr. Marques de Morais has been fraught with multiple irregularities, including the potential threat to the […]

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Brewing Discontent Within the Intelligence and Security Services

Operatives from the State Intelligence and Security Service (SINSE) recently addressed a letter to President José Eduardo dos Santos, in which it gave an account of the increasing levels of discouragement among their ranks, due to a lack of leadership and poor working conditions. SINSE has a budget of KZ 66.6 billion (US$695 million) for the current year. Funds were also fairly generous in previous years. However, the distribution of much of these funds remains a mystery to the operatives. In the confidential correspondence sent to the President, SINSE operatives request that José Eduardo dos Santos agrees to attend a meeting with them, so that they can explain their grievances and the institutional impediments preventing them from doing their work. In advance, SINSE officials reveal that the current head of the institution, Sebastião Martins, rarely comes to the office, and when he does, he lacks motivation and authority. Last October, […]

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Alternating Demonstrations: Political Protest and the Government’s Response in Angola

In March 2011, at the height of the North African street protests, an anonymous letter went viral. It called for a mass demonstration in Luanda’s Independence Square, in the capital of Angola, on March 7, 2011. At this symbolic demonstration, the police arrested all seventeen individuals who attended, including three journalists and their driver who were there to cover the event. The ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) politburo accused Western intelligence services, as well as pressured groups in Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Germany, of disseminating the online letter that demanded an end to President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’s thirty-two year rule. In an anticipated counter-offensive, the MPLA held pro-dos Santos demonstrations in several parts of the country on March 5, 2011, at a staggering cost of over $20 million from the party coffers. State media propaganda claimed that, in Luanda alone, the march […]

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Guards on Trial After Being Jailed in ‘Cash Machine’

Fifteen soldiers from the Central Protection and Security Unit (DCPS) in the Military Bureau of the Angolan Presidency (Casa Militar) appeared in the Luanda Regional Military Court on Tuesday, accused of making a collective demand for better salaries and better living and working conditions. The charges follow an incident on 7 September last year, when 224 soldiers from the unit in question signed a petition addressed to the commander of the Presidential Guard Unit (UGP), Lieutenant General Alfredo Tyaunda, complaining of poor working conditions and salaries. The soldiers sent copies of the petition to the Military Judicial Police, the Military Prosecutor and the Chief of Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA). Besides demanding decent salaries, the soldiers claimed proper salary slips, and for their salaries to be paid directly into a bank. A group of five soldiers who spoke to Maka Angola, on behalf of the others, revealed that […]

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