Six months have passed since Angolan lawyer Zola Ferreira Bambi received the 2025 Lawyers for Lawyers Award. To commemorate this milestone, we spoke with Zola about the challenges and progress since receiving the award, and we are pleased to share a video recorded at the ceremony as a tribute to his courage, resilience, and lifelong commitment to justice.
Six months have passed since Angolan lawyer Zola Ferreira Bambi received the 2025 Lawyers for Lawyers Award. To commemorate this milestone, we spoke with Zola about the challenges and progress since receiving the award, and we are pleased to share a video recorded at the ceremony as a tribute to his courage, resilience, and lifelong commitment to justice.
Zola Ferreira Bambi
Zola Ferreira Bambi is a prominent Angolan human rights lawyer dedicated to defending activists and vulnerable communities. For over two decades, he has represented numerous activists and journalists facing judicial harassment or prosecution for peaceful protests. Mr. Bambi is the current president of the Observatory for Social Cohesion and Justice in Angola, and has documented and exposed human rights violations, lack of judicial independence and abuse in legal processes in Angola.
Among his most notable achievements are the defense of activists detained during the mass protests of September 2023, as well as involvement in high-profile cases such as the Cafunfo massacre,[1] the Cassule Camulingue case, and the 15+2 case.
A recognition of courage and excellence
On 15 May 2025, in an event co-hosted by the Amsterdam Bar Association, Zola Ferreira Bambi was honoured with the Lawyers for Lawyers Award 2025. The award recognized his courage and determination in defending fellow lawyers, human rights defenders, and journalists in Angola — individuals who frequently face threats, surveillance, and attacks.
Since receiving the award, Zola has continued to document and challenge the persecution and judicial harassment of activists. These efforts, however, have come at great personal cost, jeopardizing his own safety and that of his family. Despite these risks, Zola remains steadfast in his mission to uphold the rights of the most vulnerable.
“I understand that the importance of this award is that it is kind of a protective shield for those whom we defend. They will understand that their cases have been heard. That the international community knows their cases. That they are not forgotten.”
A movement of solidarity
In recent months, social unrest and police repression in Angola have led to mass arrests of over 1,500 individuals, including peaceful protesters and bystanders. In response, hundreds of lawyers from various fields mobilized to defend detainees and uphold their right to justice — a remarkable show of professional solidarity.
Zola notes that, before the award, many Angolan lawyers were reluctant to get involved in human rights work due to fear of reprisals. The visibility brought by the award changed that dynamic:
“Many colleagues reached out after reading about the award. Over a hundred volunteered to join human rights cases — they said they were inspired to stand up for what our profession should represent.”
As he reflects:
“Lawyers and society respected our work but were afraid to support us. The award changed that a little — now we receive more public backing and greater respect.”
Persistent challenges
Months after receiving the award, Mr. Bambi stated that he had noticed some improvement regarding persecution by authorities and unknown actors. After the events of the strike and social uprising of July 28-30, 2025, he denounced the excessive use of force and extrajudicial killings committed by various branches of the National Police. He participated in the legal representation of protesters both at police stations and in courts and received a wave of solidarity from more than 500 lawyers. However, the situation changed rapidly when, in August 2025, he discovered a bullet hole in the windshield of his vehicle while on his way to work.[2]
This incident was the latest in a series of acts of intimidation and threats he has suffered. In January 2024, he was put under house arrest by the police and forcibly taken to a police station, reportedly to prevent him from attending a hearing where he was scheduled to defend an activist detained under unlawful circumstances.[3]
Nonetheless, he reminds us:
“We will continue to do what we can, understanding that today the world notices a little more what is happening in Angola.”
Commitment to justice
The alarming attacks suffered by Zola Ferreira Bambi expose the risks faced by human rights lawyers in Angola and reveal a system that constantly undermines the rule of law and the fundamental guarantees that protect the free and independent practice of law, without intimidation, harassment, or undue interference.[4] Despite these challenges, Zola Ferreira exemplifies unwavering resilience and commitment to defending human rights in Angola.
Lawyers for Lawyers reaffirms its solidarity with Zola Ferreira Bambi and remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting his work and the broader community of lawyers in Angola. In Zola’s own words:
“May this effect be contagious — may more colleagues feel free to bring human rights, democracy, and the rule of law into their work, without fear.”
[2] Deep Concern over incident involving lawyer Zola Ferreira Bambi in Angola
[3] International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger. (2024, February 28). Zola Ferreira Bambi. Available at: https://protect-lawyers.org/en/case/zola-ferreira-bambi/
[4] United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Principle 16
