Image: Radio Angola
Luanda, July 28, 2025
The undersigned civil society organizations hereby express their strongest condemnation of the arbitrary detention of civic activist and one of the leaders of the movements protesting the increase in fuel prices and university tuition fees in Angola. Osvaldo Sérgio Correia Caholo, 36 years old, was detained on July 19, 2025, at his residence in the municipality of Icolo e Bengo.
Caholo was arbitrarily detained and transported in an unmarked vehicle, under conditions resembling a kidnapping. The charges against him — which include incitement to rebellion, advocacy of and public incitement to crime — are based on a video recording that appears to have been manipulated. In addition, his legal team has faced unjustified restrictions on access to their client, in clear violation of:
- the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, particularly Articles 63 (freedom of expression) and 66 (right to legal defense);
- the Criminal Procedure Code (Law No. 39/20), which governs the legality of pre-trial detention;
- the Law on Precautionary Measures (Law No. 25/15);
- and various international human rights conventions and treaties ratified by Angola, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
A graduate in International Relations, human rights defender, and pro-democracy activist, Caholo was expelled from higher education after being arrested in the well-known “15+2” case in 2015 for participating in discussions on democracy.
Since then, he has been politically persecuted, excluded from institutional public spaces, and pushed toward social marginalization. He currently survives by selling homemade bread on the streets of Luanda — a brutal portrait of the cost of thinking differently in Angola.
His current arbitrary detention is yet another chapter in a continuous pattern of persecution, built on weak pretexts and lacking solid legal grounds. During a hearing before the examining judge, only one of his lawyers was allowed to attend, unlawfully denying him full legal defense. Reports indicate that there was no substantive legal discussion, but rather psychological pressure and emotional manipulation.
The only alleged evidence is a video — whose authenticity is disputed. In a context where even the President of the Republic has been the target of fabricated videos, the judiciary should act with greater technical caution and uphold the principles of the rule of law.
It is worth highlighting that, to date, Osvaldo Caholo’s lawyers continue to be denied any contact with their client, and there is no official information on his whereabouts — a serious violation of fundamental rights, a judicial scandal, and an affront to the democratic rule of law.
Caholo is yet another victim of the oppressive environment in Angola, where freedoms and fundamental guarantees are routinely disregarded in favor of power abuse and institutional incompetence. We must say enough! Enough of political prisoners in Angola. The charges against them have no legal basis — they are merely exercising their right to freedom of expression and voicing their discontent with current governance. This is a direct affront to the Constitution and to democratic principles.
Therefore, the signatory organizations of this statement call on the judiciary to act with impartiality, ensure transparency in the proceedings, and ultimately secure the unconditional release of activist Osvaldo Caholo.
Freedom is not a privilege — it is a right.
Signatories:
- Friends of Angola (FOA)
- OMUNGA
- Upange Association
- Lutheran Association for the Development of Angola (ALDA)