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Politics

Parliament approved removal of immunity of deputy Manuel Rabelais

Two commissions of the National Assembly of Angola unanimously approved the joint report-opinion for the suspension of mandate and removal of immunity of MPLA deputy Manuel Rabelais, accused of embezzlement, among other crimes.

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The document, approved by the 1st and 9th committees, will be submitted to the final global vote at the first extraordinary plenary session of the fourth legislative session of the IV legislature, which takes place next Tuesday, to respond to the Supreme Court's request for suspension of mandate and waiver of immunity of Manuel Rabelais, former Minister of Social Communication.

The deputy of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), who was director of the extinct Office of Revitalization of Institutional Communication and Marketing of the Administration (GRECIMA), between 2016 and 2017, is being accused of crimes of embezzlement, violation of rules of execution of the plan and budget, undue receipt of benefits and money laundering.

According to the president of the 9th committee, Mandates, Ethics and Parliamentary Decorum, Justino Pinto de Andrade, the two commissions have the responsibility to prepare a joint report-opinion and also the Draft Resolution, which will be presented to the plenary on Tuesday.

"There was a unanimous vote of the members of the two commissions and I think that eventually there will also be no major questions in the plenary, because this is a constitutional duty," said Justino Pinto de Andrade, in statements to the press at the end of the meeting.

The deputy, belonging to the parliamentary group of the Wide Convergence of Salvation of Angola - Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE), underlined that "the Assembly does not judge, does not investigate, only gives conditions for the justice organs to proceed".

"As far as we are aware, there is a matter for the justice to conclude the process, we wish our colleague to understand that we are doing our job, our role, in compliance with the Constitution and also with the rules of procedure of the National Assembly ", said.

Justino Pinto de Andrade also said that, as chairman of the committee that deals with this matter, he was not aware of any other request of the kind to other deputies, guaranteeing that the only one that exists so far is related to Manuel Rabelais.

In turn, the deputy of the parliamentary bench of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) Michaela Weba said that there are also other deputies who were constituted defendants, but their processes are more delayed.

"The Attorney General's Office did not rush, as it did for this case of Mr Manuel Rabelais. I remember Mr Higino Carneiro, who was at exactly the same time as Mr Manuel Rabelais, his process stopped, because so far, parliament has not been asked to suspend its mandate and waive immunity, "he said.

According to Mihaela Weba, "there are many deputies who, as civil servants, have committed a crime of embezzlement and who are in parliament" and because they are "parliamentary immunity means that no defendants are constituted and that they are not even investigated by the fact of being deputies ".

Deputy João Pinto, from the majority parliamentary group, said that opposition colleagues have raised the theory of selectivity in fighting corruption, to discredit the process.

"What our opposition does not know or did not count on is the cohesion of the MPLA and the courage to propose a Government program, which aims to moralize society," he said.

João Pinto recalled that a request for suspension of mandates and removal of immunity has already happened in the past, with MPLA deputy Mello Xavier.

"This is not the first time in our constitutional history that this has happened, what must be maintained is serenity and demonstrate that the rule of law and the fight against corruption are a new deontology, but everyone enjoys a presumption of innocence until the courts condemn or acquit and our solidarity as compatriots, comrade, cannot be confused ", he stressed.

The Statute of Deputies establishes that the loss of immunities is made through a request from the courts to the National Assembly, which decides in plenary, by means of a resolution, the withdrawal or not, while the Constitution of the Republic defines, in its article 150. º that deputies cannot be detained or imprisoned without authorization from the National Assembly or the Permanent Commission, which replaces the plenary in the parliamentary break, except in flagrante delicto for intentional crime punishable by imprisonment for more than two years.

Other deputies also have prosecutions or crimes in progress at the Attorney General's Office, namely Deputies Higino Carneiro, as governor of Luanda province, Vitória de Barros Neto, as minister of fisheries, and Virgílio Tyova, as governor of province of Luanda. Cunene.

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