Luanda, July 30, 2025 (Lusa) - Broken windows, destroyed wardrobes, empty rooms. That is all that remains of the hotel that António Bumba built over the last two decades and which was destroyed in the riots in Angola's capital, Luanda, leaving him and his employees with nothing but a pile of rubble.

In what remains of the building, signs of the care and affection with which he ran the place are evident. It included bars, a nightclub, a restaurant, a ballroom and a small shop in the Calemba 2 neighbourhood, one of the areas most affected by the violence that swept through various parts of the Angolan capital on Monday, the first day of the taxi drivers' strike.

The increase in fuel prices was the catalyst for the strike, but it quickly gave way to frustration and anger accumulated by Luandans suffering from poor socio-economic conditions. The protests turned into vandalism and looting.

Since Monday, when the strike began, at least 22 people have lost their lives in the riots, and many others, such as António da Costa Bumba, now face an uncertain future. In tears, he told Lusa how he saw a 20-year dream collapse.

Born into a poor family, he faced difficulties from a young age and, through hard work and sacrifice, built a business that "today is in ruins".

"It's hard for me to explain everything I had, because it's a lifetime's investment. I have children studying, I have grandchildren, with this effort I employed 19 people, some of whom had been working with me for about 12 years," he said.

António recalls that his efforts extend to his female employees - who "are crying with me today" - women who were present at the time of the attack by the uncontrolled crowd on Monday.

Felícia dos Santos, manager of the space since 2014, describes the hours of panic experienced that day:

“On Monday we came to work, there was a crowd of people, they started vandalising some shops, so I sent some guests home to their families because it was too much, there was a lot of fighting, a lot of stones,” she told Lusa.

“Our security guards fought back, fired several shots, but unfortunately they ran out of bullets and we had no way to save ourselves. We started jumping from the first floor onto the neighbours’ rooftops and began to get some guests out so we could save their lives,” she recalls.

The locals, she continues, arrived armed with stones, machetes, axes, saws, sabres and clubs.

"They came in here, vandalised the place, took our belongings, went into the bedrooms, took the toilets (...) I found the drawer of my desk open, I was in shock, the only solution was to save ourselves. We couldn't do anything, they threatened us, I watched from afar with tears in my eyes," she reports.

Absent at the time of the attack, António was alerted by telephone by his employees.

“I arrived here and I am now in tears, I am devastated, not knowing what to do with my life,” says the owner, before breaking down in tears.

He recalled the difficulties he faced in getting the business off the ground, including power cuts - which forced him to operate with generators - until, last year, he finally managed to acquire a transformer station.

With the help of informal loans (he was unable to obtain bank credit), he invested in improvements: painting, renovation of the facilities, new air conditioners and 12 rooms equipped with furniture, minibars, televisions and air conditioning.

“I finally managed to pay off these debts and even some employees who encouraged me to continue, and thank God, this year was starting with the project becoming profitable. This was built in stages, I spent more than US$1 million on this hotel, my whole life has been dedicated to this hotel,” he says emotionally.

“Right now, I am devastated. I am the son of peasant parents, I am a suffering son, my whole life and that of my friends has been sacrificed, I have never enjoyed any state benefits, now I don't know what to do, at this moment, my house, my family, my employees are all gone", he despairs.

António has filed a report with the police and hopes that the Angolan government will pay attention to the victims of the destruction, but he says he has no hope of recovering what he has lost:

"I have no resources, even if it were a loan I would be ready, but without that I have nowhere to start, they stole everything. I appeal to people of good faith, to the Angolan Government: there are parents crying, children crying, children who have been left homeless, people who have lost their jobs, whom I tried so hard to help, and now I have nothing. I don't know what I'm going to do with my life, it's completely destroyed. Look at everything I've lost," he says, crying inconsolably, accompanied by the employees of his “suffering team” team.

Tomorrow "will be a disaster," concludes Felícia dos Santos. “We are unemployed, we have nothing, we need help,” she says.

In the neighbourhood, other shops and warehouses show signs of devastation. Nothing is left. On the asphalt, burnt rubbish and debris create a scene reminiscent of a war zone.

Today, the situation is more under control, but rapid intervention police units remain on the streets to prevent further disturbances. Gunshots can still be heard as officers enter neighbourhoods and round up those suspected of participating in the vandalism, who join the more than 1,200 people detained so far.

RCR/AYLS // AYLS

Lusa