Search Results for: freedom

Rafael Marques Receives the Press Freedom Award

(Acceptance speech for the International Press Institute’s World Press Freedom Hero Award received on June 22 in Abuja, Nigeria.)   When the news of this award reached Angola, many of my countrymen and women posted images of me as Wakanda’s Black Panther on their social media. This award is not for me. It mirrors the hopes of many Angolans that changes will not come simply from political decision-making, but from a growing awareness amongst and stand from civil society. Looting of the state, human rights abuses, corruption and political contempt for the suffering of the people are the main ills of the Angolan society where the powerful take away what rightfully belongs to everyone and trample on others’ lives. The investigative journalism I’ve engaged in through Maka Angola in a hostile environment has spearheaded the renewal of hopes that among ordinary Angolans a force for good can be reckoned with. […]

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Angola’s Rafael Marques named 70th IPI Press Freedom Hero

Journalist Rafael Marques de Morais, who has braved decades of harassment and prosecution to expose corruption and human rights abuses in his native Angola, has been named the International Press Institute (IPI)’s 70th World Press Freedom Hero. IPI’s World Press Freedom Hero award honours journalists who have made significant contributions to the promotion of press freedom, particularly in the face of great personal risk. Together with the annual Free Media Pioneer award, it will be presented during a special ceremony on June 22 in Abuja, Nigeria during IPI’s annual World Congress and General Assembly. For the past four years, both awards have been given in partnership with Copenhagen-based International Media Support. Marques began his career as a reporter for the state-owned newspaper Jornal de Angola in 1992, before being fired over his willingness to deviate from the line set by Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the former […]

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The Death Knell for Freedom of the Press in Angola

January 23, 2017 will go down in the annals of Angola as the day on which freedom of the press died. This was the day Angola’s new media legislation was published – a basket of five individual laws introducing a regulating body and stringent controls on journalists, the internet, the press, radio and television broadcasting. The new media laws have been rushed into being six months ahead of crucial presidential and parliamentary elections this year and it is feared their purpose is to ensure that the only information allowed to reach the Angolan public, toes the ruling-MPLA’s party line. In a page straight out of the German Nazi propaganda playbook dreamt up by Carl Schmitt, the new rules and regulations are so general and ambiguous that their interpretation depends on case-by-case ruling by the minister, a judge or similar. Freedom of the Press henceforth will depend on the individual whim […]

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Mothers of Political Prisoners March for their Sons’ Freedom

The mothers and relatives of the 15 political prisoners are set to defy the authorities today, at 13.00, when they attempt to march in Luanda to demand the release of their sons. Yesterday, the Luanda Provincial Government notified the organizers that the march had been prohibited. It has become a routine for the police and security forces to disperse any attempt at anti-government protests with considerable pre-emptive violence, arrests and sometimes kidnapping. The provincial government has clearly changed its position on the march, as it had initially allowed it by citing the constitutional right of peaceful demonstrations. It is now impeding the realisation of the march, allegedly for legal reasons. Reacting to the ban, Leonor Odete João, mother of Afonso Matias “Mbanza Hamza” told Maka Angola “the march will go ahead”. “We will not get to the National Assembly, but we will reach the Largo da Mutamba and send a […]

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Freedom of Expression: a Crime against the State Security in Angola

In the oil-rich enclave of Cabinda, in the northernmost part of Angola, three individuals share a prison cell, since March 14, charged with crimes against the state security and sedition, for a protest against bad governance and human rights abuses, which never took place.  Their arrests and the charges leveled against them,  are what illustrate the sophistication of the authoritarian rule in Angola. Members of the state security arrested Marcos Mavungo, a university lecturer and oil worker for Chevron, as soon as he exited the Catholic Church where he attended morning mass at 7h00. He was, in fact, the lead proponent of the protest.  The local government swiftly prohibited holding the protest the moment it was notified by the organizers several days before. The demonstration was supposed to be held in the afternoon but the ban, and the massive deployment of police officers in the small urban district of Cabinda […]

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President Lourenço: Where Does Angola Go from Here? 

The foundation of Angola’s future prosperity rests upon four pillars. Firstly, empowering and visionary leadership at the executive level, capable of bridging the numerous divides in Angola’s society to unite the country’s citizenry and institutions to work towards common prosperity. Secondly, the presence of strong legal institutions capable of upholding the rule of law. Thirdly, the economic emancipation and continued preservation of the populace’s economic freedom. Lastly, a well-crafted and well-defined blueprint to ensure access to freedom and justice for all.   The foundation of any prosperous nation-state is the presence of robust and fair leadership in its government combined with strong and well-functioning institutions. The aforementioned qualities give rise to a nation that is governed democratically and equitably, with branches of government working in symphony to uphold the rule of law and achieve common prosperity. In such a nation, all branches of government work together to foster a legal climate capable […]

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Justice Capture in Angola

President Lourenço has weaponized the judicial system to mete out political retribution against his personal enemies, principally his predecessor’s family members and closest associates. The unequal application of justice gives every appearance of protection for some of the most notoriously corrupt public officials, in exchange for their allegiance. A few days ago, Angola’s Criminal Investigation Service arrested a young man, Flávio Caiongo, over a TikTok video. His crime? Calling our President Lourenço a “thief”. His TikTok was critical of the poor rule that plagues Angola, and has left so many of my fellow Angolans hungry. As I stand here, the authorities are still hunting down the other two people who took part in it. It’s ironic. Twenty-three years ago, Angola’s then President, José Eduardo dos Santos, put me in jail for calling his régime “corrupt”. When President Lourenço succeeded him in 2017, he promised change: an end to kleptocracy, respect […]

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Angola Elections 2022: Trouble Ahead?

Angola’s 2022 election seemed to go well. International observers dubbed the poll ‘free and fair’ and the official election organizer, the Comissão Nacional Eleitoral (CNE), declared the MPLA the victor with just over 51% of total votes cast. This official result was immediately challenged by the main opposition party, UNITA, amid allegations of inconsistencies in the count and procedural irregularities by the CNE itself. The situation risks undermining the all-too-recent gains in democratic freedoms and civil liberties, with opposition supporters taking to the streets to express their anger, feeling cheated of the change they desperately wanted. ————— When on August 29th the CNE announced the official election result, awarding victory to the ruling MPLA, it was immediately challenged by UNITA on the grounds of alleged inconsistencies between the certified polling station tallies and the final count given by the CNE. Initially, the main opposition, UNITA seemed to suggest the numbers […]

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Angola Elections 2022: Education

Angola does not have enough schools or teachers to meet the needs of a population growing by a million each year. Experts theorize (and parents instinctively understand) that education is key to social progress and it’s one of the key issues facing the political parties contesting this election: how to deliver their promise of free and universal education to university level. Both the governing MPLA and its main rival, UNITA, have promised to boost spending but they don’t go into detail in their published programmes and campaign speeches. Maka Angola has some suggestions. Education is one of the most visible indicators of social progress and the benefits are far-reaching. Education provides individuals with intellectual and practical skills that make them productive. It enhances living conditions by fostering social equity and justice. It develops human talent and civic virtues. Angola has experimented with different teaching models by default since achieving independence […]

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Angolan Elections 2022: Final Days of the Campaign

It was a hectic end to the campaign: observing MPLA rallies in Benguela and Luanda and, on the last day of the 2022 campaign, UNITA’s final rally in the district of Cazenga in the capital, Luanda. It was a spectacle of music, dance and speeches that was received enthusiastically by the thousands who flocked to the area behind the site of the Luanda International Fair. The atmosphere was buzzing; over-eager youth almost pushing over the barricades as they tried to get closer to the stage where the UNITA candidates would sit. There was little of the regimented wearing of party colours seen at the MPLA rallies. One of the party’s parliamentary candidates said they were thrilled that ordinary people were coming, not just the party members. And with a wink, “we didn’t have to hand out money to random motorcyclists to turn up, either”. That’s something the ruling MPLA is […]

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