"Something dangerous and negative has been established here for Angola's image in Africa and the world," said Mondlane, in a live broadcast on his Facebook page, from Maputo.
The issue at hand is the retention, for hours, at the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport of several international guests who traveled to Angola, including the former President of Botswana Ian Khama and the former President of Colombia Andrés Pastrana, in addition to Mondlane himself, the latter of whom ended up being forced to leave the country.
According to a UNITA source, the group was in Angola to participate in a conference on the future of democracy in Africa promoted by the Brenthurst Foundation.
According to Mondlane, the country's migration services claimed that his entry had been refused, without respecting the procedures and the law in this type of situation, highlighting the presentation of the reason for the decision.
"We were not even deported, there were no procedures within the law that met the requirements for us to be deported. That was an irregularity at the highest level. Nothing was done according to the law," declared Mondlane.
Mondlane is defending a lawsuit against the Angolan state, accusing it of violating the protocols of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union.
"March 13 should be considered the day of public shame in Angola," Mondlane added, adding that the decision to retain the delegation came from the Ministry of the Interior, although the delegation was not officially informed.
The Mozambican politician considers it a shame that the incident occurred precisely in the country that holds the presidency of the African Union.
"I recommend to UNITA, to the delegation that was there and to the alternative organizations of SADC and the African Union that they sue the Angolan State," added Mondlane.
The Attorney General's Office (PGR) of Mozambique has opened proceedings against Mondlane, accusing the politician, above all, of inciting violence in the post-election demonstrations that have marked the country in recent months.
On Tuesday, Mondlane, who is leading the biggest challenge to the election results that the country has seen since the first multi-party elections (1994), was heard by the PGR about one of the eight cases in which he is targeted in the context of the protests and post-election social unrest in Mozambique.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Mozambique applied the measure of identity and residence term to Venâncio Mondlane, who, during his live broadcast, said that he informed the Public Prosecutor's Office about his departure for Angola.
Hours after the delegation was detained, former Colombian presidents Andrés Pastrana and Botswana president Ian Khama were allowed to enter, but the latter decided to leave the country after the "humiliation".
"What happened today was a big shock for me. The last time I was in Luanda was at the invitation of the president himself, João Lourenço. (...) So what happened is something I never expected," said Ian Khama, before announcing to the event organizers that he was leaving the country.
The conference, jointly organized with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the World Liberty Congress, is scheduled to take place in Benguela, from this Friday until Sunday.
