“As a family, we support and encourage his struggle. He wants the best for Angola”
16 September marks one year since Gildo das Ruas has been detained. We met with his partner, his father and brother; they described what an entire year, without Gildo has been like.
“I didn’t know that Gildo had been arrested. When I called his phone, a prison guard picked up and that’s how I confirmed the information I saw on social media. Gildo had been arrested,” said Marcelina José, Gildo’s partner. Marcelina is with Gildo’s father and brother, she recalls the day of his arrest. Hermegildo Jose Victor AKA Gildo das Ruas (29) was arrested on 16 September 2023, hours before taking part in a solidarity demonstration in solidarity with motorcycle taxi drivers, in Luanda, capital city of Angola.
The motorcycle-taxi drivers were facing restrictions to circulate in some areas of Luanda. The protest had been duly communicated to the authorities in the city, however, the protest never took place. Police arrived on scene before the protest had begun and without any justification or warrant, the police arbitrarily arrested those who were present there.
Gildo who had come to participate in this protest, was also arrested in the police round up.
On 19 September 2023, Gildo and other three activists[1] were tried and convicted. The Public prosecutor initially accused the four, of “outrage and injury to the President of the Republic”.Amid various inconsistencies and lack of evidence, the charge was then changed to ‘disobedience and resisting orders.’ Witness reports and videos circulated, showed that at the time of their arrest, the four activists were lying on the ground, not resisting.
Without any evidence “of disobedience and resisting orders”, the court sentenced Gildo, and his co-accused to two years and five months in prison and fined them 80,000 Angolan Kwanzas (approximately US$100 ) each. Their lawyers submitted both an appeal and complaint against the decision, but both were ignored by the court.
We sat down with Gildo’s loved ones, his partner, Marcelina, his brother and his father, to learn more about the brave activist.
Q: Who is Gildo and why will he spend around 880 days in prison without having committed any crime?
A: I’m an informal seller at the market, and that’s where I met Gildo in 2020. He invited me to go out, and from there we became close to each other. I didn’t know he was an activist. When I found out, people discouraged me from continuing my relationship with him, but he always said I shouldn’t listen, and I didn’t” said Marcelina.
Gildo’s father, José Gonga, saw Gildo grow into his activism, “He was a calm kid. At the end of his adolescence, I noticed that his activism was getting stronger, but I wasn’t surprised because our family is from the lineage of Queen Njinga Mbande, the warrior”.
“A few years ago, I sent him to Luanda to study electricity, but he dropped to study political science. Although I didn’t like his decision, I understood why my son likes to defend Angola.”
“Gildo likes to chat on Facebook with his activist friends. He also likes reading books, especially by Pepetela (Angolan writer). The songs that put him in the best mood are by Força suprema (Angolan rap group)”. Said Victor Gonga, Gildo’s brother.
Q: Is this the first time Gildo has been arrested for his activism? What does the family think about his choices?
Gildo’s father said “No, this is not the first time. He had already been imprisoned in Malange province for 6 months. He was defending the replacement of electricity in the municipality of Calendula. The police always had problems with him. As a family, we support and encourage his activism. He wants the best for Angola”.
Q: What happened on the morning of 16 September 2023?
“That Saturday, Gildo was supposed to travel back to Malange. He told me he was going to the market to shop and then he would travel. At the end of the afternoon, I started to see on social media that he had been arrested, but I didn’t believe it because he hadn’t said he was going to the demonstration, I thought it was a lie.” Marcelina said.
“When I called him, the guard said that he was in fact arrested, but I only believed it when Gildo called me personally to confirm. I cried a lot. I had a hard time believing it. I had never been to jail before in my life, but since all this started, I had to come to Luanda and now I go to jail often to visit him and also take food.”
Q: What has it been like visiting Gildo in jail?
Marcelina responds first, “The first time I went to visit my partner, I cried a lot. It was hard to believe he was there. Once, I asked him if he would continue his activism after leaving prison, he said yes. Activism is his life. I know his dream is to defend Angola so I will continue supporting him. I miss talking to him and seeing him happy, because he’s not happy there.”
“Gildo is really cool with me. There are days when I’m on the phone, looking at photos and I start crying because I miss my brother so much” says Victor.
[Gildo’s father] “My son’s arrest is unfair, he was just defending the rights of motorcycle taxi drivers. Now that Gildo is in prison, his mother is also suffering a lot. She is physically disabled and walks with crutches, Gildo was the one who took care of her, but now, she is on her own. Gildo’s daughters also know that their father is in prison and we always say that their father will be back soon.”
“Gildo and other activists have the right to speak and defend constitutionally enshrined rights. Everywhere in the world there are people doing the same things. Even here in Angola, our heroes fought, as did our great Njinga Mbande.”
“The activists are only defending the people, but it seems that the government does not want their best interests. The president [and his government] must release Gildo and other prisoners. The hardest moment for me is seeing my son behind bars, he should be with his family, not in jail.”
Gildo in prison
In the first weeks of his arbitrary detention, Gildo was ill, but recovered. He recently relapsed. He had fevers and body aches for more than a month. The lawyers asked the prison authorities for a medical appointment and the diagnosis was a spinal deviation. Gildo cannot stand for more than 30 minutes and now uses a wheelchair. Although he is taking medication, it will only be known in the coming months whether the treatment will be effective or not.
Just like Gildo, many other young people are seeing their future jeopardised because they dared to raise their voices to defend the rights of their communities.
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