Luanda, July 22, 2025 (Lusa) - Angolan civil society organisations have condemned the internet blackout that took place on Saturday in Angola, during which people in several provinces protested against rising fuel prices and school fees, considering the measure to be anti-democratic and dictatorial.
Angolan non-governmental organisations OMUNGA, Friends of Angola, Upange, FORDU and ALDA, in a statement released on Monday, consider last Saturday’s internet blackout in Angola to be an anti-democratic and dictatorial act against the free exercise of assembly and demonstration.
According to the NGOs, the executive led by President João Lourenço deprived the entire country of internet services for eight hours on July 19, 2025, at a time when demonstrations were taking place in several provincial capitals of Angola against the rise in diesel prices.
‘All the marches were scheduled to start at 1 p.m., which was exactly when there was a drop in internet usage, i.e., there was an internet blackout throughout the country while the demonstration against the rise in diesel prices was taking place,’ the statement said.
For civic associations, this conduct "is a clear violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Angola", emphasising that the use of new information technologies, particularly social networks, "has been an alternative to public media outlets that are managed with public resources".
“The internet service outage that occurred during the demonstrations indicates that a ‘higher authority’ intervened with the aim of reducing the impact of the peaceful demonstrations that were taking place in different provinces of the country,” the associations emphasise.
They also urge the attorney general’s office to open an inquiry to investigate the motives and hold the offenders responsible for the damage caused to citizens.
Several people, especially on social media, criticised the internet blackout on Saturday in Angola, when several provinces were protesting against measures to increase fuel prices, taxi fares and school fees, claiming that the measure was aimed at stopping the spread of protests.
Angola Cables, a multinational telecommunications company, reported at the time that the country was partially deprived of internet access on Saturday due to a malfunction caused by road works that cut fibre optic connections and affected several internet operators.
DAS/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
