António Luamba

Gender: Male
Video Journalist

On January 10, six reporters working for news outlets TV Zimbo and TV Palanca were assaulted by unidentified people and forced to flee to safety while reporting on a nationwide strike by taxi drivers in the capital Luanda, according to media reports and the journalists, who spoke to CPJ by telephone. The nationwide strike was in protest of COVID-19 restrictions, poor state of roads, demands for social security benefits, and a call for the end to alleged extortion by police, according to media reports.Around 7 a.m. on January 10, Campos was first to arrive at the main taxi rank in Luanda’s suburb of Benfica, as the drivers began preparations to block roads, he told CPJ. Initially, demonstrators welcomed the media attention, saying they should report on what was happening, however, attitudes changed when he began filming the vandalism and arson attack on a building owned by the ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party.Around 9 a.m., Luis and his Palanca TV crew arrived at the scene and positioned themselves to film the burning office and vandalism, Luis told CPJ. People in the crowd of protestors began throwing rocks at a Ministry of Health bus before setting it on fire, forcing passengers to flee for their lives, he said. Luis and his crew were punched by people who tried to take their equipment, Luis said, adding that someone soaked him with petrol and when he turned around, he saw someone lighting a match. “I was lucky the match fell to the floor when someone bumped into him, and before he could throw it at me,” Luis told CPJ. Nhati told CPJ that he was grabbed from the back, had an arm wrapped tight around his neck for about 30 seconds, and was kicked in the legs by an unidentified man who tried to take him to the ground. Nhati tried to flee but became entangled in his microphone’s long cable. Luis grabbed the mic while Nhati tried to pull free, and when one of the attackers tripped and fell, Nhati was able to escape, h

Read More...