Two Portuguese businessmen are in court over land ownership in Luanda. The case dates back to 2017 and began with a failed deal to import a concrete pump.
The case, which is being heard in the Viana District Court in Luanda, entered the stage of questions presented this Monday by the judge in the case, and involves Portuguese businessmen José Vieira (the accused) and Carlos Alberto (the offended), former friends.
According to the records, the investigation began in 2017, when Carlos Alberto asked Jose Vieira to exchange his concrete pump 58 (a small construction truck used to produce cement) for a pump 41, which belonged to the defendant.
The verbal agreement was not carried out because the bomb was not imported from Portugal, but anger grew and ended in a land brawl that also included allegations of torture by Angolan authorities.
The accused, Jose Vieira, claims that the injured party, Carlos Alberto, demanded that he pay $400,000 for not receiving the bomb 41, which resulted in him being interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Service (SIC), where he was allegedly threatened and forced to sign documents.
Under the alleged influence of local authorities, Carlos Alberto forged documents that gave him ownership of the premises where José Vieira lived and built shops, workshops and warehouses where he provided assistance to clients, including the injured party.
Carlos Alberto claims ownership of the space located in the urban district of Quicuxi, in Viana, one of the most populous municipalities of Luanda, and accuses José Vieira of crimes related to usurpation of property and breach of trust, which he denies.
Judge Antonio Jose Eduardo found that the lawsuit concerned a plot of land owned by the defendant, the original owner of which was his son.
However, in the opinion of the court, it has not been proven that the defendant has a right to part of the land that he occupies and of which he is the owner, since it would belong to the injured party and that José Vieira bribed Viana’s inspection agents to carry out the work.
The judge also emphasized that it had been proven that the SIC employees had threatened the defendant and subjected him to psychological torture in order to make him sign the agreements contained in the protocols.
Assistant attorney for the injured party, Jandira Bango, says she has documents proving that the right to the surface was granted by the local administration to Carlos Alberto, and she is confident that “the court will know how to do its job” and “carry out justice.”
A land dispute in Angola has authorities worried, acknowledging they are dealing with organised crime.
According to Angolan press reports, the municipalities of Cacuaco, Viana and Belas in Luanda are among the worst affected in these cases, with high-ranking police, military and government officials often involved in the fight against “defenseless” peasants.