At least five people have been killed and more than 1,200 arrested in Luanda after a taxi strike over fuel prices turned violent. Shops were looted, cars were damaged and large parts of Angola’s capital came to a standstill.
The unrest began on Monday when drivers of candongueiros – blue and white minibus taxis that carry nearly 90 percent of Luanda’s commuters – launched a three-day strike.
They were protesting a government decision to raise the price of subsidised petrol from 300 to 400 kwanzas per litre (about €0.29 to €0.38) earlier in July.
By Tuesday evening, police spokesperson Mateus Rodrigues said 1,214 people had been arrested. He said shops, banks and cars had been vandalised, and warned that “pockets of disorder” were still being reported.
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Luanda at a 'standstill’
Many shops and businesses have closed their doors. “The city centre is quiet,” activist Laura Macedo told RFI’s Portuguese service. “But all the shops were shut since Monday afternoon. Luanda is at a standstill.”
Macedo said the calm was deceptive, adding that "people can see the government is not in the slightest bit concerned about them”.
A single taxi trip that once cost 700 kwanzas, she said, was now up to 1,800 kwanzas in some areas.
“We don’t have public transport. The government allowed drivers to raise their prices, trying to prevent a revolt. But that created even more anger,” she explained.
Macedo, an organiser of peaceful marches in recent weeks, said police often broke up the gatherings before they could finish.
“Angolans have been struggling for years. Even middle-class families can no longer manage,” she said.
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Angola is the second-largest oil producer in Africa, behind Nigeria. But many people say they are not seeing any benefit from Angola’s oil wealth.
“This is a paradox we’ve lived with since independence,” said Macedo, criticising President João Lourenço for promoting Angola’s 50th independence anniversary while much of the population continues to suffer.
“He cannot be a happy man. How can you accept that there are still children on the streets, and that the drought in southern Angola continues to kill people?” she asked.
The ANATA taxi drivers’ union, which called the strike, has distanced itself from the unrest.
Its leader, Geraldo Wanga, condemned the violence and said his members were not involved in the destruction. He criticised what he called the “arbitrary” arrest of drivers wrongly accused of inciting violence.
The protests reflect growing frustration with Angola’s economic struggles and political leadership. The MPLA has ruled since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Many are calling for change as inflation rises and jobs remain scarce.
