maternal uncle, Dr. Luís Micolo. He was imprisoned at St Paul prison in Luanda and São Nicolau (present-day Cape Verde) by the PIDE from January 1971 to May 1974. He was released in May 1974 after the 25 April Revolution, together with his brother, General Baltazar Diogo Cristóvão. He started his career by serving as the first National Secretary of the JMPLA. In 1976, he became the political commissar of the Angolan Armed Forces.