Death of Doctor Who Didn’t Wear Mask Sparks Anger in Angola

(Bloomberg) -- The death last week of a doctor who was pulled over for not wearing a mask has triggered a public outcry in Angola about the excessive use of force by police enforcing measures to curb the coronavirus epidemic.

Silvio Andrade Dala, 35, was driving home on Sept. 1 after a 24-hour shift at a clinic in the capital, Luanda, when he was stopped by police and fined 5,000 Kwanzas ($8) because he didn’t wear a mask. Unable to pay immediately, he was jailed. His body was found later at a hospital, according to Adriano Manuel, president of the Union of Angolan Doctors.

“How can jail even be justified for a doctor who identifies himself as such?” Manuel said by phone. “Why didn’t they seize his car and let him fetch the money?”

The incident comes after a spate of complaints of abuse by security forces and follows the publication of an Aug. 25 report by Amnesty International detailing the deaths of seven young men at the hands of police since the government declared a state of emergency in March. The seven include a 15-year-old boy who was shot while playing sport, according to the U.K.-based advocacy group.

“Angolan security forces in various provinces have resorted to excessive, disproportionate, abusive, and even lethal use of force to deal with infringements of Covid-19 prevention measures,” Amnesty said. The government hasn’t commented on the report.

Wrong Bodies

The state of emergency was accompanied by a lockdown and measures such as mandatory quarantine in state facilities for all coronavirus cases as well as the people they’d been in contact with. That policy was scrapped in August amid reports of people who contracted Covid-19 during quarantine and of relatives burying the wrong bodies as hospital morgues confused some identities.

Today, most businesses have reopened and those with Covid-19 have to stay indoors. Wearing a face mask outside the home remains mandatory, even while driving alone.

Initially, police said Dala showed signs of fatigue, began convulsing and died en route to a medical facility. On Friday, it said an autopsy showed that he had died of pre-existing conditions, without specifying what they were.

However, images of Dala’s bloodied body that are circulating on social media have triggered widespread anger and the government has now pledged to investigate the incident. On Sunday, the Health Ministry said it supports the country’s prosecutor in finding the “real cause” of his death so that the “culprits can be held accountable.”

Police spokesman Waldemar Jose didn’t answer his phone when called several times for comment.

Angola had 2,965 confirmed coronavirus cases and 117 deaths as of Sept. 7.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.