The unconstitutionality of the trial of Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ son motivates improvements

The Prosecutor General of Angola (PGR) this Wednesday in Luanda devalued the decision declaring unconstitutional the trial of the “500 million” case, in which the son of former President José Eduardo dos Santos is involved, considering that “it motivates to do better.”

For Helder Pitta Grosz, what is at stake is not fighting corruption, but rather improving procedures to motivate people to do more and better.

“This does not mean that this decision of the Supreme Court will jeopardize the fight against corruption and other issues, on the contrary, it will strengthen our activities, make us more attentive to certain procedures and that we will be able to do this in a more intensive way, with more energy, always taking into account the current legislation here in Angola,” he said.

Helder Pitta Groz was referring to a recent ruling by the Constitutional Court (CC) of Angola, which declared unconstitutional the Supreme Court’s verdict in a case involving the illegal transfer of $500 million (€469.7 million) from the National Bank of Angola. to a foreigner, which resulted in the conviction of, among others, José Filomeno dos Santos, known as “Zeno,” the son of former President José Eduardo dos Santos.

According to the judges of the CU, the principles of legality, fair trial and controversial proceedings were not observed at the plenary session of the Supreme Court, and the case should be returned to this instance to correct the issues found unconstitutional.

According to Helder Pitta Groza, who spoke to the press on the sidelines of a conference on strengthening and cooperation between Angola, the European Union and the United Nations on Drugs and Crime (ONUDC), the trial was called into question. for certain constitutional principles were not observed.

“The matter will now go to the Supreme Court, which was the body that gave the decision, and the Supreme Court will decide on the next step. We will have to wait for the Supreme Court to decide where the case goes,” he said. emphasized.

José Filomeno dos Santos, former president of the Angolan Sovereign Fund, was sentenced in the second instance, in August 2020, by the Angolan Supreme Court to five years in prison for “the practice of crimes related to embezzlement and fraud.” through fraud and influence peddling.”

The defense appealed this decision to the Constitutional Court in 2022, as did three others convicted: Walter da Silva, former governor of the BNA, Jorge Godens Sebastian, businessman and childhood friend of “Zena”, and António Boulet Manuel, director of the BNA, all sentenced to prison : eight, six and five years respectively.