Angola, 2016 — dissident coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 30 January 2016, corresponding to an alleged January 2016 plot against President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, the long-ruling MPLA leader who had held power since 1979. According to the indictment in the case, which came to trial in 2017, a group of men were arrested on 30 and 31 January 2016 near the presidential palace and the state television and radio station in the capital Luanda, carrying eight guns as well as knives and bayonets. Prosecutors said the men had plotted to take over the television station after capturing the head of state at the presidential palace, and that they had sought to foment trouble against the Angolan state and physically harm dos Santos.
In December 2017 an Angolan court jailed the alleged plotters for up to ten years, while other defendants were acquitted or given lighter terms covered by time already served. The accused repeatedly denied the charges, and one of their lawyers called the verdict a political decision that would be appealed, while the opposition party UNITA denied any involvement. The 30 January 2016 coding matches the arrest date.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
54001302016
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: dos Santos remained in power; the alleged plotters were jailed for up to 10 years in 2017.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Legal Brief
News 24
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →