Killing of Guinea-Bissau rapper sends opposition underground

DAKAR, Aug 21 - In the months before opposition activist and rapper Vigario Luis Balanta was beaten to death and his body dumped in a field outside the capital of Guinea-Bissau, his wife begged him to keep a low profile.

Balanta's killing in March sent shockwaves through the political movement he founded in the West African country, which has been under military rule since late November. The new leaders of his movement have gone underground as they seek ways to end the cycle of coups and violence since independence from Portugal in 1974.

"I was constantly asking him to lie low, so it wouldn't reach this point that it reached," his wife Dulce told Reuters during an interview. The couple had two children together, aged 8 and 11.

On the night of his killing, Dulce thought her husband was hiding with friends - as he often did after public events such as the lengthy radio interview he had given days earlier - or that he had been arrested. But the next morning, she grew alarmed after her calls went unanswered.

Friends advised her to try the hospital.

"I saw them all crying, so I asked 'what's wrong?' I thought they captured him, and beat him a lot," she said, recalling a previous incident in which unknown men came to the house, took him away and beat him.

"But when I entered, I saw a dead body, and I haven't been able to get the traumatic image out of my mind."

Po' di Terra has accused the military-led government of protecting his killers. The government condemned the killing and said that it is investigating and cannot comment further until it has finished.

The government has said it took power to stop drug traffickers seizing a country that has long been a major cocaine transport hub. Opposition presidential contender Fernando Dias, 47, said the takeover derailed an election that he was poised to win.

RAPPER SPOKE OUT AFTER MILITARY CRACKDOWN

Balanta, who was 32 at the time of his death, was known for rap music that described the challenges of growing up in a poor country with few opportunities, appealing to young people frustrated with constant political unrest in Guinea-Bissau.

"He was the only person who had the courage and audacity to speak out openly about political and social issues," said Emilio Lima Betungut, a childhood friend and member of the Po' di Terra political movement that Balanta created in 2023.

The name roughly translates to "natives of the land" in Guinean Portuguese.

After military officers seized power last November, just a day before election results were scheduled, authorities tightened control. Nigeria offered Dias protection at its embassy as authorities arrested opposition figures, raided radio stations, briefly closing their offices, and banned public protests, unauthorized press conferences and other forms of dissent.

Balanta spoke out all the same, including to Reuters, during a demonstration in December.

A spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office said it was following the case of his killing and urging the government to bring those responsible to justice.

MUSICAL TRIBUTES SPREAD HIS MESSAGE

After his death, local and international artists posted musical tributes online or shared them in WhatsApp groups.

One such tribute by Guinean rapper El Smec D'vas, who is based in Portugal, shows Balanta, with a raised fist, saying to the camera: "They can try to abduct my body, but they will never be able to capture my revolutionary consciousness."

Po' di Terra's new leader, Nado da Cunha, is based in Brazil. An inner circle of around 21 members, mostly in Guinea-Bissau, communicate through an encrypted chat group.

"We reached the conclusion that any person in Guinea-Bissau succeeding Vigario would run serious risks," da Cunha said in an interview.

The group shares ideas and information in a chat with some 100 members to keep the movement alive and develop grassroots support. Their goal is to encourage the population of around 2 million to demand political freedoms and the rule of law.

The military government says it plans to hold a constitutional referendum on August 30, followed by general elections on December 6, 2026.

OPPOSITION FIGURES SAY THEY WILL FIGHT ON FOR CHANGE

Dias has returned home and government guards are often visible outside his house. He told Reuters he did not feel safe and that he and his supporters faced restrictions but that he would keep fighting.

"Our people need to be free from the hands of the coup plotters," he said.

In his most recent social media post, in July, he called for his ally, former prime minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, to be freed from house arrest.

Close friends like Betungut say Balanta's life and bravery continue to inspire his movement.

"He was a courageous man, someone everyone saw fighting relentlessly, with everything he had, to ensure that rights were respected," he said.

In the weeks after Balanta's death, some radio producers told Reuters that they felt it was too risky to play his music or tributes to his memory.

Po' di Terra's new leaders say they will continue to fight for the movement and honour his memory.

"He was aware that he could be assassinated at any moment, but if that happened, he wanted us to continue the struggle, not let the Movement die, and never stop believing that Guinea-Bissau could change for the better," da Cunha said. REUTERS