The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights declared itself this Thursday, April 2, “shocked” by the “brutal murder” of the leader of the Revolutionary Movement “Pó di Terra”, found dead in Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday.
In a statement, the UN High Commissioner states that the death of Vigário Luís Balanta, leader of the Guinean civil society organization critical of the military regime, “occurs at a time of a growing reduction in civic and democratic space”, which has accelerated in Guinea-Bissau since the coup d’état on November 26, 2025.
Vigário Balanta’s body was found on Tuesday in a deserted place in the suburbs of Nhacra, 30 kilometers from the capital, Bissau.
Vigário Balanta actively participated in organizing a popular protest at the end of December, calling for the return of constitutional order.
“The UN has called on the de facto authorities in Guinea-Bissau to urgently investigate the murder impartially and bring those responsible to justice.”but no note.
The High Commissioner declared that several members of the opposition and human rights defenders are being “arbitrarily detained, attacked, harassed and intimidated”, adding that “there is also a repression of protests and suspension of radio stations”.
“Such acts are incompatible with Guinea-Bissau’s international obligations in matters of human rights and must cease immediately, and the victims must be guaranteed all necessary reparations. The de facto authorities must also take urgent and significant measures to restore constitutional order”he added.
The association “Firkidja di Pubis” accused this Thursday, April 2, the self-styled Military High Command and the Government of Guinea-Bissau for the kidnapping, torture and murder of its secretary general, Vigário Balanta, declaring that this crime demonstrates the “character (…) of war against the people” by the regime and its militias.
On Tuesday, the president of the Guinean League of Human Rights, Bubacar Turé, denounced the murder of Vigário Balanta, before presenting the report on the situation of Human Rights in Guinea-Bissau, stating that the execution “is not just a crime, it is a deeply disturbing sign that, in Guinea-Bissau, the exercise of fundamental rights can turn into an act of serious risk”.
Bubacar Turé noted that not only is the individual safety of each rights defender in Guinea-Bissau at stake, but “the very essence of human dignity and the rule of law”.
Also on Tuesday, the transitional government in Guinea-Bissau said, in a statement, that it had learned “with deep consternation and lively indignation” of what it considered to be a “regrettable and reprehensible event”, condemning the death “in particularly violent circumstances” of citizen Vigário Luís Balanta.
The following day, the deputy national director of the Judiciary Police (PJ) of Guinea-Bissau, Cornélia Té, said that “enough of the homicides of innocent people” in the country and promised to work to discover the political activist’s killers.
The official said that the PJ works in collaboration with the Public Order Police (POP) and the Information and Security Service (SIS) and urged the population to provide any information that could help in investigating the case.
Also on Wednesday, the Mozambican opposition party National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique (Anamola) repudiated the “brutal” murder of the Guinean political activist, demanding from the Guinea-Bissau authorities a “swift, transparent and independent” investigation to hold the perpetrators accountable.
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