Between November 2020 and June 2023, Angola has witnessed a deeply troubling pattern of excessive use of force by police against peaceful protesters. These repeated human rights violations have caused death, injury, trauma, and repression of fundamental freedoms, revealing the Angolan authorities’ failure to uphold the rule of law and constitutional rights. This analysis draws on detailed investigations by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other credible sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of the crisis and its wider implications.
Context of Political and Social Unrest
The wave of protests that swept across Angola during this period reflects growing popular discontent over unmet electoral promises by President João Lourenço’s government, pervasive corruption, deteriorating living conditions, and lack of political dialogue. The harsh economic realities, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and a severe drought, left millions facing food insecurity and poverty, fueling the public’s frustration.
In response, Angolan police have repeatedly resorted to brutal tactics to suppress peaceful dissent. Amnesty International’s report, titled Broken promises: Protesters caught between tear gas, bullets, and batons in Angola, documents at least eleven protests spanning Luanda, Benguela, Cafunfo, Kwanza-Norte, and Huambo, where police employed firearms, tear gas, batons, and dogs against protestors.
Alarming Statistics and Human Rights Violations
Between late 2020 and mid-2023, police killed at least 17 people during these protests. Many victims were young, including children and university students. Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Khanyo Farisè, condemned these acts, stating,
“People in Angola protested when President João Lourenço didn’t live up to his electoral promises. But instead of respecting the right to peaceful assembly, police under Lourenço’s leadership cracked down with brutal force.”
She further highlighted the gruesome impact: “Amnesty’s research documents a child shot dead, limbs burned by tear gas canisters hurled at crowds, and vicious beatings in police custody resulting in deep physical and emotional scars. Angolan authorities still have held no one accountable for these violations. The victims and their families deserve justice now.”
Protesters were subjected not only to lethal force but also arbitrary arrests, torture, and beatings, often incommunicado. Human Rights Watch’s 2025 World Report exposed widespread abuses, including sexual violence against women street vendors and torture used to extract confessions from activists. Between April and June 2024, police tortured at least six individuals in Luanda, Bié, and Lunda Sul provinces.
Despite these documented abuses, accountability remains elusive. While Police Minister Eugénio Laborinho acknowledged in September 2024 that officers “regrettably make mistakes, some of which culminate in the loss of human life,” he also confirmed that only 78 officers were expelled for misconduct between January 2023 and mid-2024, a numerically small fraction given the scale of abuses reported. This limited internal disciplinary action suggests institutional reluctance to fully tackle systemic police brutality.
Specific Incidents of Police Repression
Among the many violent acts, one striking episode occurred in June 2023, when police assaulted women street traders protesting in Luanda. Police unleashed tear gas without warning, deployed dogs to intimidate, beat demonstrators with batons, and forcibly dispersed the crowd.
In November 2020, during anti-government protests in Luanda, police used live bullets, tear gas, and dogs. Well-known activists like Nito Alves and Laurinda Goveia were severely beaten, and activist Luaty Beirao was arbitrarily detained. These actions reveal a consistent governmental pattern of repressing political dissent through intimidation and violence.
Government Response and Legal Backdrop
The Angolan government’s response to these allegations has oscillated between minimal admissions and efforts to marginally regulate the police. Commissioner-General Paulo Gaspar de Almeida, Commander-General of the national police, publicly promised investigations into killings during the pandemic’s enforcement operations but failed to deliver substantive reforms or transparent accountability mechanisms.
Parliament’s consideration of a controversial new national security law, passed in its first reading by January 2024, threatens to further restrict freedoms of expression, assembly, and the press. This law would empower the government to wield sweeping control over media and civil society, worsening the environment for human rights defenders. Observers fear this legislative trend signals an authoritarian tightening under the guise of national security, which has already been criticized as incompatible with Angola’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Human Rights and International Law Violations
Police use of live ammunition and indiscriminate tear gas violatess Angola’s own laws and multiple international covenants guaranteeing the right to life, freedom from torture and ill-treatment, liberty, and peaceful assembly. Arbitrary detention and torture of peaceful protesters breach fundamental rights and erode citizen trust in the state’s institutions.
The excessive and disproportionate use of force by security forces during protests violates international human rights standards set by the United Nations. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeated calls for comprehensive investigations, prosecution of perpetrators, and reparations for victims.
The draft security law further threatens these protections by consolidating coercive power within the executive, undermining democracy, and stifling legitimate dissent.
Societal Impacts: Trauma and Civic Space Shrinkage
The physical violence against protesters leaves survivors and their families with lasting scars. Amnesty International highlights how the brutality has “left people dead, wounded, and traumatized,” creating a culture of fear that stifles freedoms and deters peaceful political expression. Psychological trauma from such violence affects entire communities, compounding social fractures.
Moreover, the arrests, intimidation, and harassment of activists, journalists, and civil society organizations hamper civic engagement and democracy. The Angolan association Mãos Livres provides legal aid in some cases, but the environment for human rights advocates remains hostile.
Child malnutrition and drought further compound the country’s crises, worsening political instability and prompting repeated demonstrations driven by desperate economic and social conditions.
Calls for Justice and International Accountability
Human rights defenders and organizations worldwide have called for urgent reforms. Amnesty International insists,
“Authorities in Angola must hold police officers accountable for killing, injuring or traumatizing dozens of people during protests… Police must also stop attacking protesters and respect and uphold everyone’s right to freedom of assembly.”
Similarly, Human Rights Watch recommends independent investigations into killings, routine use of excessive force, and unlawful detentions.
International bodies including the United Nations are urged to actively monitor Angola’s human rights situation. The anticipated visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions is an important step to pressure the government on accountability.
Without international scrutiny and consistent domestic reform, Angola risks deepening its crisis of governance, human rights, and social stability.
Angola’s Urgent Need to End Police Violence and Reinforce Rights
Angola’s recent history underscores the tragic failure of security forces to respect the fundamental rights of peaceful protesters and civil society. The excessive and often lethal force used by police during protests over unmet political promises and social grievances has cost dozens of lives and caused profound trauma. Despite some official recognition of these abuses, genuine accountability and justice remain missing.
The government’s proposed restrictive security laws threaten to shrink civic space further, risking Angola’s democratic trajectory.
As Khanyo Farisè of Amnesty International emphasized,
“The victims and their families deserve justice now.”
The international community, alongside Angolan civil society, must press for systemic reforms that safeguard the right to peaceful protest, ensure independent investigations of abuses, and provide remedies for victims. Angola’s political stability and democratic future depend on respecting human dignity and civil liberties rather than repression and brutality.
