Luanda, Aug. 5, 2025 (Lusa) - Angolan human rights organisations on Tuesday called in Luanda for the country's president and the commander-general of the national police to be held responsible for the deaths during last week's riots in Angola.
At a press conference, the Episcopal Commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, Pro Bono Angola, Justice, Peace and Democracy (AJPD) and Friends of Angola (FoA) expressed "deep concern and indignation at the events that took place between 28 and 30 July 2025, in the provinces of Luanda, Icolo and Bengo, Huambo and Malanje, during the taxi drivers' strike in Luanda".
The leader of the Justice and Peace Commission of CEAST - Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé - considered that both the Angolan head of state and the commander-general of the police "can be held responsible, because they are morally responsible".
“Power in Angola is in the hands of one person and it is certainly for this reason that the country’s president can be held responsible, along with the commander-general of the police, because of their statements justifying the public execution of a defenceless woman and so many others,” said Father Celestino Epalanga, head of this Angolan Catholic Church body.
The organisations called for “urgent intervention by the state” to restore public confidence, ensure that “abusive practices” are not repeated and promote an environment of social peace based on respect for human rights and the strengthening of democratic institutions.
For them, the three days were marked "by a wave of violence and unrest, culminating in summary executions, allegedly perpetrated by police officers, resulting in 30 deaths, including a police officer, more than 200 injured and around 1,214 arrests".
These figures, they add, highlight “the brutality of the acts that victimised defenceless citizens in broad daylight”.
In the same note, they consider that the taxi drivers' strike "was a legitimate form of protest against the unsustainable cost of living (...), especially among citizens who depend on informal public transport, known as “candongueiros”, (the blue and white taxi minibusses) the main means of transport for a significant part of the population".
Regarding the deaths, the president of the AJPD, Serra Bango, considered that it was not simply police officers who carried out the killings, but “specially trained men”.
“The responsibility is individual in criminal terms and each person, according to their guilt and their actions, should be held accountable. (...) If it turns out that these orders came from the palace, from the country’s president, then of course the responsibility has to go right to the top, there can be no doubt about that,” he said, pointing out that the peak in deaths coincided with the head of state’s return to the country.
The president of Friends of Angola, Florindo Chivucute, stressed the importance of the Executive supporting companies affected by the looting. However, he pointed to the need to support the families of the victims, drawing attention to the negative consequences in the future, with the normalisation of the death of people.
The statement emphasises that “the killings perpetrated by police officers under the pretext of containing social disorder constitute serious violations of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution and in international instruments ratified by Angola”.
According to the organisations, although the taxi drivers' action was marred by the acts of disorder, looting and vandalism that followed, “nothing justifies the disproportionate and violent police response, marked by abuse of authority and excessive use of force”.
The Angolan government announced financial aid of 50 billion kwanzas (€46 million) for the affected companies, but for these human rights organisations "this will not solve the problem".
NME/AYLS // AYLS
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