“We believe that his conduct does not constitute an escape that 'per se' justifies the application of the set of coercion measures that were applied to him, measures that in our opinion should be changed, maintaining only the ban on leaving the country for appearing judicious and less burdensome while the main proceedings are being processed, the facts of which determined its application ”, reads in the order of that court.
General Bento dos Santos 'Kangamba', married to a niece of José Eduardo dos Santos, and president of the Luanda football club Kabuscorp Sport Clube do Palanca, was arrested on 29 February in the province of Cunene, according to the Attorney General's Office. Republic (PGR), when he tried to escape to Namibia, an accusation that the businessman also denied.
The former leader of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) was detained, according to the PGR, on suspicion of “the practice of the crime of fraud by fraud”, and a pistol and values in kwanzas and rands were apprehended at the time of detention. (South African currency) that were not disclosed.
After being heard at the National Directorate of Investigation and Criminal Action (DNIAP), Bento 'Kangamba' was released, but subject to coercive measures, being prevented from changing his residence or being absent for more than five days without communicating his whereabouts , to leave the country and the province of Luanda and with an obligation to periodically report to the authorities every fifteen days.
In defense of the measures imposed on him, the defense says that he justified the lack of a previous DNIAP notification, in December, for “not being in the province of Luanda” and that “times later” had to be absent “for reasons of health to South Africa ”.
He also claims to have been notified, on 28 February, to appear at DNIAP on 5 March, having been arrested that same day when he was “on a business trip” in the province of Cunene, “in totally inhuman and unworthy conditions”, guaranteeing that “at no time would he intend to flee”, nor had he been notified of his status as an accused.
In an order dated 1 June and received at the Judicial Secretariat of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court on the 9th of this month, Judge Daniel Modesto partially upholds the request to challenge the enforcement measures applied, maintaining only the ban on leaving the country.
The judge considered that the application of coercion measures must “necessarily obey the principles of adequacy and proportionality” and although 'Kangamba' was under an obligation to report to the authorities, according to the coercion measures, his absences were justified by medical documents and letter he addressed to DNIAP.
Bento ‘Kangamba’, who for several years was responsible for the mobilization of the party in Luanda, responds in a lawsuit filed by the couple Bruno Gerardin and Teresa Gerardin, who lent him, in 2017, 15 million dollars, an amount that he didn’t pay in full.
The businessman assumed he was in default on the debt, but guaranteed that he will honor it "within a reasonable time", having already made some partial payments.
