Huambo – The Commission for Reconciliation in Memory of Victims of Political Conflicts (CIVICOP) handed over the remains of four victims of political conflicts to their families on Wednesday in central Huambo province.
These are Paulino Sassonga, killed on 17 May 1986, Rodrigues Chinduva (17 October 1981), Luís Maria Mbongue (5 June 1985), former members of the Popular Defence Organisation (ODP) and Sabina Ngoloveia (23 July 2001), all murdered in the municipality of Cachiungo, Huambo province.
During the ceremony, the executive coordinator of the COVICOP Operational and Logistics Group, Fernando Garcia Miala, handed over the remains and death certificates, in addition to paying tribute to the victims, laying a wreath, greeting the family members and signing the book of condolences.
The exhumations follows an exhausting work carried out by CIVICOP to identify and hand over to the families victims of political conflicts in Angola, after a meticulous process of verification, laboratory testing and genetic certification.
The Department of Forensic Biology – DNA of the Central Criminalistics Laboratory reported that the identification of the four victims of the political conflicts concluded the process of comparison and statistical analysis of the genetic profiles of the relatives and the remains, which determined that there was a genetic compatibility between both.
Speaking on behalf of Huambo government, the vice-governor for Technical Services and Infrastructures, Edgar dos Santos Hilário, said this was a symbolic and transcendental act, as it highlights the capacity of Angolans to embrace others and reconcile with history.
Hilario recalled that the country, through the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, decided, in an unusual gesture of humility and nobility, to apologize to all the victims of the political conflicts that occurred from November 11, 1975 to April 4, 2002, an extremely complex period, the outcome of which caused pain and psychological trauma.
The victims' families thanked the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, for the gesture of reconciliation.
He considered it a noble and humane gesture by the Head of State to facilitate the family members' ability to hold a dignified funeral for their loved ones.
Created by Presidential Decree in April 2019, the Commission for Reconciliation in Memory of Victims of Political Conflicts (CIVICOP) has the mission of drawing up a general plan to pay tribute to the victims of the political conflicts that occurred in Angola between 11 November 1975 and 4 April 2002. ALH/TED/AMP
