In the petition, which already has over 300 signatories, both in person and online, citizens argue that the initiative aims to demand the immediate removal of the President, based on constitutional principles that guarantee the right to life, human dignity, freedom of assembly, expression, information, and protection against torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
The initiative is coordinated by the Mudei Civic Movement and has several signatories, including activists, university professors, journalists, civic association leaders, and other citizens.
"Under his leadership, the Angolan state was responsible for brutal massacres, such as the one in Cafunfo (in 2021), where dozens of citizens were murdered by defense and security forces, in addition to other extrajudicial executions during the covid-19 pandemic, with victims spread across several provinces," reads the document consulted by Lusa this Friday.
They consider citizens like Juliana Cafrique, a street vendor shot dead by a police officer in 2019, doctor Sílvio Dala, who died in 2020 in a police station where he was being held for not wearing a face mask, student Inocêncio de Matos, killed in 2020 during a protest repressed by the police, and other anonymous individuals who lost their lives in circumstances that "reveal the abusive use of force and the trivialization of human life."
They also point to the protests of July 28, 29, and 30, following the strike called by taxi drivers in Luanda and in the interior of Angola, stating that these resulted in "violent repression, murders, and acts of torture committed by state agents."
"Such events directly violate the articles of the Constitution of the Republic of Angola (CRA) that prohibit the death penalty, guarantee the right to physical integrity and peaceful protest, and establish the Angolan State as based on respect for and protection of fundamental rights," the petition states.
At least 30 people died, including a police officer, more than 200 were injured, and more than 1200 were arrested, following the latest riots recorded between July 28 and 30, 2025, in the provinces of Luanda, Icolo e Bengo, Huambo, and Malanje, according to a police report.
Luaty Beirão, a member of the Mudei Civic Movement and one of the petition's signatories, said the initiative reflects the use of a democratic tool in a "profoundly undemocratic" country and aims to "demand" the resignation of "the person holding the office of President of the Republic, who never was."
"So, that's basically it. It's a well-founded dismissal, because as the guarantor of the Constitution, he [President João Lourenço] failed and fails every day, and violates the Constitution, mocking the people he claims to represent as his patron," the activist told Lusa this Friday.
The activist also considered that Angolan institutions (parliament, courts, and others) are part of the "façade and theatrics" that aggravate the country's deteriorating condition, noting that they are filled "artificially."
"And an artificiality that gives an advantage to those who protect the system," he argued, emphasizing that the country's current situation justifies things, "like the protests recorded last week, and demands that the MPLA leave power and that a democracy that is just beginning to crawl be put in place."
Activist Jerónimo Nsisa, also one of the petition's signatories, argued that the initiative arises from "systematic violations" of human rights by Angolan police officers since President João Lourenço came to power in 2017.
"Since 2017, we have seen an increase in systematic violations of Angolan human rights. This is a public declaration of an effective dictatorship in Angola," he told Lusa, recalling the deaths of Juliana Cafrique and Inocêncio de Matos, the "summary executions" in Cafunfo, and the deaths of workers at the Caculo Cabaça dam.
For Jerónimo Nsisa, there is a "muscular stance and excessive politicization" of the Angolan National Police: "From this, we understand that the President of the Republic is a threat to national stability, he does not respect human rights, and he systematically violates rights."
"People are detained for crimes of opinion (...), there is a climate of systematic violation of human rights, and the President of the Republic lacks the decorum required for this position," the Angolan activist stated.
In the petition promoted on social media, which already has more than 340 signatories, citizens also criticize what they consider the use of public media as "instruments of political propaganda and disinformation."
They state that given "so many state crimes, so many lives lost, widespread hunger, rampant unemployment, political oppression, and the erosion of civil liberties, João Lourenço's continued hold on power is unacceptable."
