The Constitution of Angola By: Kristina Niceski

Some Insight “I said to them, ‘Could it be that there are no laws in this country? You are police. You should protect the law, but you are breaking it.” -A victim of forced evictions in Soba Kapasa, speaking in February

Important Aspects of the Constitution Part II-Fundamental Rights and Duties Article 36 [] (1) No citizen may be arrested or put on trial except in accordance with the law, and all accused shall be guaranteed the right to defense and the right to legal aid and counsel. (2) The State shall make provision to ensure that justice shall not be denied owing to insufficient economic means. (3) No one shall be sentenced for an act not considered a crime at the time when it was committed

What’s Really Happening “A climate of arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention, torture and ill-treatment, deaths in police custody and extrajudicial executions is exposed in a new Amnesty International report. Officers that commit such abuses have almost total impunity.”

Important Aspects of the Constitution Article 42 [] (1) To prevent any abuse of power through imprisonment or illegal detention, a writ of habeas corpus may be presented to the competent legal court by the person concerned or any other citizen. (2) The right to habeas corpus shall be regulated by law.

What’s Really Happening “In February 2007, Francisco Levi da Costa was found beaten to death in a cell in a police station in Luanda, the Angolan capital. It was reported that he had been brutally beaten by police for four consecutive days. The police stated that an investigation was being carried out – as they have in other similar cases - but these investigations have still not been concluded and no one has been held responsible for the deaths.”

The Irony Habeas Corpus essentially means that everyone has the right to see a judge, and cannot be unlawfully imprisoned. However in Section 2 Part 2 of article 42, it claims that “habeas corpus shall be regulated by the law.” Regulated by the law, basically means, regulated by the police, but what happens when the police themselves are breaking the law?

Constitution Section I, Article 32 (1) Article 32 [] (1) Freedom of expression, assembly, demonstration and all other forms of expression shall be guaranteed.

Contradiction Pedro Maria Antonio, Paulo Mazungo, Andre Conde, Domingos Conde were arrested in the province of Cabinda, Angola. “The four men named above were arbitrarily arrested on 14 July by Provincial Criminal Investigative Police officers in the province of Cabinda. They had been protesting against the appointment of a new bishop, and Amnesty International believes that they have been arrested solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression. They have reportedly been tortured. “

The Constitution Part II-Fundamental Rights and Duties Article 44 [] The State shall guarantee the inviolability of the home and the secrecy of correspondence, with limitations especially provided for by law.

Angola “There have been cases of mass forced evictions – large-scale evictions carried out without due process of law – in which the police have acted without considering the legality of their actions.”

…Continued “Amnesty International has also recorded cases of excessive use of force during forced evictions. The police have co-operated with other agencies, such as Luanda Provincial Government fiscal officials, private security companies and military personnel to forcibly evict people from their homes since at least July 2001.”

Continued… “During forced evictions and demolitions on 21 June 2004 in Wenji Maka, Kilamba Kiaxi municipality, several people were reported to have been arbitrarily arrested and others wounded by police gunfire. Sebastião Manuel and José Valentim were shot in the legs and José João Fernandes was shot in the head and lost the ability to speak.(20) No investigations were carried out into this incident.”

In Conclusion It is evident, that the country of Angola is not following out the laws presented within their constitution. The most prominent problem is the fact that, if a law is broken, the police are essentially the one who first deal with the criminals. However, the criminals are the police. This is also ties into the constraint of power. The police aren’t entitled to do whatever they wish, solely because they have the power of the law.