The appeals were made by Congressmen Lourenço Lumingo of Convergência Ampla de Salvação de Angola - Coigação Eleitoral (CASA-CE), and by Raul Tati of União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA), during a debate in parliament this Thursday on "O Combate à Impunidade como Factor Primordial à Boa Governação.
Lourenço Lumingo urged the justice authorities to "order the release of the three young activists, who have been detained in the civil prison of Cabinda without being heard for almost a year.
At issue is the arrest of Maurício Gimbi, André Bônzela, and João Mampuela, since June of last year, for allegedly "trying to glue pamphlets on the streets that called for an end to hostilities and dialogue with the Angolan government.
"For a healthy democracy, we appeal to restore legality as soon as possible, putting our brave boys at liberty, because they are not criminals, just prisoners of conscience," Lumingo said, questioning whether "it is possible in a democratic state under the rule of law to deprive someone of their freedom for almost a year without being heard.
For his part, Congressman Raul Tati expressed his "aversion to injustice", reinforcing the appeal made by his colleague "for the immediate release of three young men, who were arrested last year, prisoners of conscience, for thinking politics with their own heads".
Raul Tati pointed out that one of the arrested activists, João Mampuela, is the son of a nationalist guerrilla of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), who was posthumously decorated in 2018 by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.
"It's a contradiction to honor the father, who fought for freedom, and keep the son in jail for thinking politics with his own head," he said.
The arrests of the three activists, members of the political organization Union of Cabindans for Independence (UCI), occurred days before they were put on the street labels, whose authorship was attributed to the movement, with the words: "Down with the weapons, down with the war, Cabinda is not Angola, live the dialogue.
Maurício Gimbi is the president of UCI, while André Bônzela is the vice president, and João Mampuela, the president's cabinet director.
In September 2019, the Cabinda Court denied the change in the coercive measures to Maurício Gimbi and João Mampuela, but granted provisional release, under a term of identity and residence and a bond of 300,000 kwanzas, to André Bônzela.
However, due to lack of conditions for the payment of the bond, Bônzela remains in custody, according to lawyer Arão Tempo.
