Taxi leaders face arrest in Angola, charged with criminal association
Last week, a strike called by taxi drivers in Angola resulted in a series of incidents that included acts of vandalism, violence, and looting. The strike was in protest of an increase in fuel prices and consequently public transport fares.
The Criminal Investigation Service (SIC) responded to these incidents by making several arrests. Among those arrested was the leader of the Association of Angolan Taxi Drivers (ATA), Francisco Eduardo. The Community Taxi Cooperative of Angola (CTCA) leader, Rafael Ginga Inácio, and the Cooperative of Taxi Drivers and Motorcyclists Freitas (CTMF) leader, António Alexandre Freitas, were also taken into custody. The vice-president of the National Association of Angolan Taxi Drivers (ANATA), Rodrigo Luciano Catimba, was not among those arrested.
The SIC arrested these individuals based on strong indications of their involvement in promoting acts of vandalism and looting against public and private goods and services. The incidents last week are likely related to the activities of the ATA, ANATA, CTCA, and CTMF, as their leaders were previously arrested.
The riots in Angola between July 28 and August 1 resulted in at least 30 deaths and over 200 injuries. Over 1,500 people were arrested during the unrest. The incidents last week may have contributed to these numbers, as well as the disruption of public order.
Francisco Paciente is the president of the National Association of Angolan Taxi Drivers (ANATA). The strike and subsequent incidents resulted in additional arrests, but the specific individuals were not specified in this paragraph.
It's worth noting that the leader arrested in Angola for incitement to violence during the taxi drivers' riots in July-August 2021 was Osvaldo Sergio Correia Caholo. Caholo, one of the protest organizers, was arrested on July 19, 2021. His arrest was condemned by civil society groups as an example of oppression against fundamental freedoms in Angola.
However, no other individual leaders have been specifically named in the provided search results as being arrested for incitement during those riots, aside from Caholo. The protests involved widespread unrest, with over 1,200 arrests in total reported during protests in late July 2025, but the information on individual leaders arrested beyond Caholo is not detailed in the sources.
In response to these events, Angola's appeal to the population is to maintain civic and orderly behavior. The government is urging citizens to express their grievances peacefully and to respect the rule of law.
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