According to the Executive Secretariat of the Standing Committee of UNITA's Political Commission, the issue involved “heinous acts of political intolerance” against the delegation led by the party's provincial secretary and member of the National Assembly, Apollo Yakuvela.
The delegation travelled to the municipality “as part of Angola's new political-administrative division” to implement party structures, a “legitimate and constitutional right” provided for in Article 17 of the Constitution.
UNITA stated in a statement that the delegation was “ambushed” by members of the ruling party, who “used violence to try to prevent the free and peaceful exercise of political activity”.
The party considers that these acts constitute a “serious attack on the life and dignity of the human person” and a “huge setback in the construction of a democratic and law-based State”.
The statement calls on the competent authorities to “urgently investigate and hold accountable” those responsible, stressing that “silence or omission” could be interpreted as complicity.
UNITA reaffirms its commitment to peace, democracy and national reconciliation, and called on civil society, churches, the media and human rights organisations to denounce “all acts of political intolerance”.
Also last year, UNITA denounced incidents of political intolerance and violence, notably an attack on a convoy of MPs during parliamentary proceedings in Cuando Cubango in April 2024, which resulted in ten injuries.
The MPs protested at the National Assembly, demanding that the perpetrators be held accountable.
