This Wednesday, police prevented a protest march in Luanda against the electoral process and detained at least a dozen demonstrators, including a journalist from Voz da America covering the initiative.
Speaking to Lusa, journalist Koke Mukuta said he was filming near the Santa Ana cemetery where the concentration would take place when he was approached by police around 9:30 am local time.
“I filmed a place where there was no demonstration, just a few people scattered around. The police interrogated me and said that I didn’t need to film there because I didn’t have permission,” he said. reported.
Even posing as a journalist and showing his official ID, Koke Mukuta was forced to get into a police van and hand over his service passes to the police, as well as a mobile phone.
The journalist said that there were already two young people in the van, who had taken part in a march called by civil society, and that he wanted to draw the attention of the Constitutional Court to alleged violations during the electoral process in Angola.
According to Koke Mukuta, the van first went to the police station, but eventually returned to the Santa Ana cemetery, where the journalist was released after spending several hours in custody.
Laurinda Gouveia, one of the organizers of the march, told Lusa that at least 13 activists were detained, including one who signed a manifesto that civil society organizations intended to hand over to the National Electoral Commission (NCC).
“They arrested our comrades, as soon as people passed by the Santa Ana cemetery, they were searched, they could not move, all the youth. Our brothers were there, but the police took them away. detained. hands,” he said.
He also explained that the march did not take place because the activists “who already know about the behavior of the police” decided to split into groups, some of which remained in the cemetery, and some went to the SNE, which would have made sense. about the arrival of the march to deliver the manifest.
“Unfortunately, they were repressed, they were beaten, we don’t know where they are, but we came to the NSV for documentation,” he stressed, leaving the former headquarters of the body, although he admits distrust of the institutions, “because they serve the party authorities”.
“Our march was first of all to demand that the Constitutional Court take a stand, give us an answer,” he added.
The manifesto, already delivered to the Constitutional Court, points to a number of violations of the law and violations, including the hiring of the Spanish company Indra to manage the electoral process, the CNE constitution, which consists mainly of members of the ruling party. , instrumentalization of the state media and law enforcement agencies, as well as the names of those killed in the voter lists.
The general election will take place on 24 August and will be contested by eight political parties with more than 14 million voters.
A spokesman for the Luanda police, Nestor Gubel, contacted Lusa and confirmed the “demonstration attempt” and said he would find out about the arrests, sending clarification for later.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
