Pedro Dala, former secretary-general of the Angolan historical party, removed from office in 2020 by the then leader, Lucas Ngonda, had asked the Constitutional Court (TC) to declare the nullity of the FNLA's V Congress, which took place from 16 to 18 September 2021, and elected Nimi a Simbi as president of this political formation, citing the controversies and internal divisions of the FNLA.
The party held its Fifth Congress, but the conclave that elected Pedro Dala was challenged by then outgoing president Lucas Ngonda, who said at the time that Pedro Dala did not have consensus and had no internal support.
A new congress was then held in September, in which Nimi a Simbi was chosen as the new leader of the political organization, with Lucas Ngonda in second place.
With the party divided into two wings, Pedro Dala appealed to the TC, contesting the validity of the call for the congress that elected Nimi to Simbi and the disregard for previous decisions of the courts.
Pedro Dala recalls that, in October 2019, Lucas Ngonda, in charge of the party since 2010, had signed a pact in which he guaranteed that he would no longer run for a new election.
For his part, Nimi a Simbi asked the court to dismiss Pedro Dala's requests and that he be "invited to refrain from using the title of president-elect of the FNLA and to return the patrimonial assets of the party he took possession of, as well as the pecuniary resources with which he was employed", according to judgment n.º 737/2022, published on the website of the Constitutional Court.
After analyzing Pedro Dala's arguments, the TC decided to dismiss the request for a declaration of nullity by the congress that elected Nimi to Simbi and the other requests made by the applicant (Pedro Dala).
But it also decided not to comply with the defendant's requests regarding the use of party assets and financial resources by the applicant, due to the court's incompetence in this matter.
