Angola delays 'coup' trial of 37 suspects

Angola delays ‘coup’ trial of 37 suspects

By : AFP

Date: 25 November 2016 2:54pm WAT

(FILES) This file photo taken on July 3, 2015 shows Angola President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos waiting for the arrival of his French counterpart at the presidential palace in Luanda. Will he go, will he stay? Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos last week began his 38th year of largely unchallenged rule after promising to step down in 2018. "I have decided to leave political life in 2018," the 74-year-old leader told party officials of his People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in a surprise announcement in March, while giving no reason for the decision. But last month, dos Santos was re-elected head of the MPLA, which would automatically extend his mandate as Angola's ruler by five years if the party wins an election in 2017, as expected / AFP PHOTO / ALAIN JOCARD

Angola President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos / AFP PHOTO / ALAIN JOCARD

Angola on Friday postponed the trial of 37 alleged former fighters from the main UNITA opposition group who are accused of a mysterious coup attempt in January.

The trial has been pushed back to December 2 “at the request of defence lawyers”, Luanda court judge Joao Pedro Fuantoni told reporters.

In a surprise announcement, the Angolan state news agency Angop reported Thursday that members of the former armed wing of UNITA had attempted a coup against President Jose Eduardo dos Santos in January.

They are accused of planning an armed assault on the presidential palace in Luanda, as well as plotting to attack public television and radio stations.

The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), which was the main rebel group during a 27-year civil war and is now the main opposition party, has denied the accusations.

Judge Fuantoni said 35 suspects were arrested and two others were still on the run.

They face charges of criminal association, attempted assassination of the head of state and illegal possession of firearms, said the judge.

“After the trial everything will be clear, we will know whether or not they had political motives,” he said.

President dos Santos, 74, has ruled one of Africa’s top oil-producing nations with an iron fist for 37 years.

The country holds elections next year and dos Santos is expected to stand again.

Angola’s bloody conflict, which drew in Cold War rivals and South Africa, started after independence from Portugal in 1975 and ended after the killing of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi in 2002.

In March, 17 political activists were convicted and sentenced to between two and eight years in jail for acts of rebellion. They were granted amnesty last month.