At issue is the presidential pardon decreed by the head of state, João Lourenço, within the scope of the 50th anniversary of national independence, which will be celebrated on November 11, 2025, of condemned citizens, which benefited José Filomeno dos Santos, son of the former President, José Eduardo dos Santos, four activists and a digital influencer, who no longer serve prison sentences from January 1st.
In a press release, the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) highlights that Angolans reacted differently to the announcement of the presidential pardon, considering that, as an integral part of the State's legislative power, it considers that "such measure should not serve as a political expedient to hide the curtailment of political freedoms and the gross violations of the fundamental rights of Angolans, carried out by the repressive machinery of the regime led by the holder of executive power".
For the UNITA parliamentary group, "instead of the presidential pardon that pardons or annuls, in whole or in part, the sentences of those citizens who should never have been convicted", a more comprehensive measure should be taken, therefore demanding an amnesty general to all political prisoners in the provinces of Luanda, Cabinda and other regions of the country.
The UNITA parliamentary group proposes an amnesty through a law to be approved by the National Assembly, under the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, "in order to extinguish all conviction processes clearly carried out for political motivations".
"The Republic of Angola is a democratic State based on the rule of law. As such, it cannot have political prisoners or prisoners of conscience, much less prisoners for crimes of opinion. It also cannot arrest pluralism of opinion and expression in public media bodies or protect democracy and subvert the principle of separation of powers", he highlights.
On the other hand, the UNITA parliamentary group considers that "it is not possible, in the democratic State of law, to release prisoners convicted of common crimes and, at the same time, keep participatory democracy, local power and the democratic State itself in prison and condemned of law".
As part of the country's 50 years of independence, the UNITA parliamentary group calls on the President to "finally free democracy and the State from the shackles of hegemony and authoritarianism, giving Angolans back the freedom to build a free society, fair, democratic, solidary, peace, equality and social progress".
Last Wednesday, Christmas Day, João Lourenço granted pardon to 51 convicts, including the son of José Eduardo dos Santos and former president of the Sovereign Fund of Angola, José Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos "Zenu", who had been convicted with three other defendants for crimes of embezzlement, fraud and influence peddling, and digital influencer Ana da Silva Miguel "Neth Nahara", sentenced to two years in prison for insults against the President of the Republic, on TikTok.
Also covered by the pardon are activists Abrão Pedro dos Santos "Pensador", Adolfo Miguel Campos André, Gilson da Silva Moreira "Tanaice Neutro", Hermenegildo José Victor André "Gildo das Ruas" arrested since September 2023 for outraging and insulting the President of the Republic when they participated in a protest by motorcycle taxi drivers.
The pardon takes into account "the good behavior" and the "absence of social danger in the return to freedom" of the various convicts, who are detained in different provinces, stated the presidential decree.
