"According to information, he is involved in some criminal act. We cannot confirm this and we cannot say that he is not. It is an ongoing process and we also know that he is on the run. Local authorities are unable to locate him, so an arrest warrant was issued," said UNITA's national secretary for Communication and Marketing, Evaldo Evangelista, on Monday.
In statements to Lusa, the politician from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), said that the disappearance of his provincial secretary in Moxico, Afonso Baptista Ndumba, "is very worrying", expressing his willingness to collaborate with the Justice Department.
Evaldo Evangelista considers that the representative of his party committed some infraction as a citizen and not as the leader of UNITA in that province, emphasizing that all citizens are equal before the law.
"Accountability must be individual and, at this time, when he is on the run and uncontactable, the local party structures are completely available to collaborate with local bodies to locate him," he noted.
The information about the disappearance of the UNITA provincial secretary in Moxico, he recalled, came following a tour that the party president, Adalberto Costa Júnior, made in recent days in the eastern region of Angola (provinces of Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul and Moxico).
The Attorney General's Office (PGR) in Moxico issued an arrest warrant and the respective transfer to prison of Afonso Baptista Ndumba, 67 years old, on suspicion of committing the crime of criminal association.
The PGR warrant, to which Lusa had access, allows entry into the accused's home or any place not accessible to the public where he is located for his detention.
According to the national press, the suspect allegedly diverted seven million kwanzas that would be spent on the reception of Adalberto Costa Júnior and involvement in currency counterfeiting crimes, as reported by Correio da Kianda.
Evaldo Evangelista denied, however, any alleged misappropriation of funds from his party by the fugitive politician, guaranteeing that Costa Júnior's visit to Moxico was normal and without embarrassment.
"This is information that we cannot confirm (...). What we can confirm is that the president's tour to the east of the country went smoothly and there was no embarrassment due to the lack of another amount and we will await the results of the investigations that are underway", concluded the national secretary of Communication and Marketing of UNITA.
