Last Saturday, around 14,000 bikers were recruited for a march in Luanda, in order to "praise the achievements of President João Lourenço", an initiative that ended up being marked by disturbances in various parts of the city, including the tourist area of Ilha do Cabo and the vicinity of Cidade Alta, next to the Court of Justice, with high security.
At least one vehicle was set on fire by enraged bikers who, in videos that circulated on social media, also burned propaganda material with the effigy of the President of the Republic, demanding the payment of 10,000 kwanzas that would have been promised to them to join the march, which took place on the same day that João Lourenço, in the guise of president of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), held a mega-rally in Luanda.
Speaking to Lusa, Wankana Oliveira, secretary for information for the Association of United and Solidarity Young People (AJUS), confirmed that the coordinators of the "plates" (place where taxi drivers and motorcycle taxi drivers gather) promised gratuities to participants, whose value did not want to disclose, namely to pay for the fuel.
According to Wankana Oliveira, the promoters, who had already organized similar rallies, were surprised by the high turnout, but the fulfillment of promises was not in question.
"Many bikers joined because they know who is in the organization and people know that (Mário Durão, president of AJUS) is a serious person who fulfills his obligations", he said.
Asked about the reasons that led the participants to revolt, he considered that there was a "political exploitation" of the situation that would have been carried out by some people "duly infiltrated and oriented".
"Some people decided to leave [the procession] and went to do something wrong, it had nothing to do with the fact that there was no gratification", guaranteed the person in charge of AJUS.
Admitting to being an MPLA activist – like Mário Durão – Wankana Oliveira rejected, however, associating the march with the party, noting that AJUS "also has UNITA militants [National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, opposition]".
He reiterated that the march served to "praise the achievements of the President, and not of the MPLA", although they made known the accomplishment of the same to the provincial structures of the party.
Due to the disturbances, AJUS officials were called by the authorities to provide clarification on Saturday, as the police are investigating the incidents, said Wankana Oliveira.
Amotrang demarcates itself from march
The Association of Motorcyclists and Transporters of Angola (Amotrang) demarcated itself from the march held, on Saturday, in Luanda.
According to Bento Rafael, Amotrang was not part of the act, admitting the participation of associates, on an individual basis.
"Amotrang was not directly part of the act, but we have associates, who, depending on the offer made, participated, summoned by the Association of United Solidarity Young People, from their workplaces", Bento Rafael told Lusa.
The official said he had no information on the record of injuries or deaths among his associates.
Information that has not yet been confirmed by an official source report the existence of at least two dead, some injured and detentions during the hours of chaos that took place on Saturday afternoon in Luanda and which caused enormous congestion in the city, forcing police intervention.
More than 48 hours after the incidents, the provincial command of Luanda has not yet provided public clarifications about the occurrences or responded to attempts to contact Lusa.
Lusa also sought to listen to MPLA officials for information, without success so far.
Last Saturday marked the start of the electoral campaign for the August 24 general elections, with the main parties (MPLA and UNITA) kicking off by organizing mega-rallies, with thousands of militants and sympathizers, in Luanda and Benguela, respectively.
