A dramatic episode of judicial misconduct has shaken Angola’s legal system, following revelations that two judges engaged in a public altercation over the alleged sharing of a 30 million kwanza bribe meant to secure the release of a murder suspect.
The incident, disclosed by prominent investigative journalist Rafael Marques in an interview with Rádio MFM, occurred several months ago in Luanda.
Although Marques refrained from naming those involved, subsequent reports by Club-K identified one of the judges as Fernando Bumba Kikulo.
According to the investigative portal, the bribe was paid by Mohamed Lakkis, a Lebanese national accused of murdering Ana Bela Marques, 34, who reportedly fell to her death from a building in Luanda’s upscale Belas Business Park.
Initially, the case was under the jurisdiction of a guarantee judge who demanded 30 million kwanzas in exchange for Lakkis’s release.
Lakkis, claiming he only had half the amount, was rebuffed.
The case was later transferred to Judge Kikulo, then serving in the 9th Section of the Common Crimes Chamber at the Luanda District Court, who allegedly accepted the reduced sum of 15 million kwanzas and authorized Lakkis’s release under identity and residence conditions.
This decision, reportedly made without consulting the initial magistrate, provoked a physical confrontation between the two judges in a public setting—an unprecedented spectacle highlighting internal corruption within the judiciary.
The fallout was swift. In October 2024, the President of the Supreme Court and the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSMJ) suspended Kikulo from his duties.
Meanwhile, the first judge, found guilty only of “breach of the duty of care,” was reassigned to Camucuio district in Namibe Province and stripped of his status as a guarantee judge.
The scandal did not end there.
In May 2025, while still under suspension, Kikulo was reportedly contacted by relatives of female Immigration and Foreigners Service (SME) employees, who were allegedly seeking their release through illegal payments.
Unable to intervene officially, Kikulo is said to have directed them to lawyer Carlos Salombongo, a figure allegedly tied to a broader network of illicit sentencing linked to Chief Justice Joel Leonardo.
However, the plot was derailed by public outcry after the negotiations were exposed.
The affair has further dented public confidence in Angola’s judiciary, already under scrutiny for a series of corruption scandals.
As calls grow louder for institutional reform and judicial accountability, this incident underscores the urgent need to restore integrity and transparency to the nation’s justice system.
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