The position is expressed in the final communiqué by the Standing Committee of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), held Wednesday in Luanda, and distributed this Thursday to the press.
The statement said that the Standing Committee appreciated the words of João Lourenço uttered during the swearing-in session of Isaías Samakuva at the Council of the Republic, after he was reappointed as president of UNITA, after 16 years in the leadership of the party, following the decision of the Constitutional Court that determined the annulment of the 13th Congress, held in 2019, in which Adalberto Costa Júnior was elected, dictating his removal.
At Samakuva's inauguration ceremony, the head of state congratulated the UNITA leader, highlighting his qualities and recalling that this is the second time he has been called to play the same role, so it is already known what is expected of him.
"You were already our colleague in the Council of the Republic for some time, as we know what we expect from you. As an advisor to the President of the Republic, I hope that this time he will come to stay," said João Lourenço.
"The Standing Committee considered these words insulting, malicious and provocative, coming from a man who confuses his role as head of state with the role of president of his party" (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola), states the UNITA statement.
For UNITA, "with these words, João Lourenço proceeded to another open interference in the internal life of UNITA, proving to all Angolans and to the international community that he was the real instigator of the Political Judgment No. 700/2021 of the Constitutional Court , with the obvious aim of creating instability within the largest opposition party".
In the statement, UNITA declares "to all Angolans that it will come out on top of this onslaught that is being suffered by João Lourenço, because as long as the Angolan people exist, nothing will be able to prevent the delivery [of the party] to the well-being of all the citizens".
"Furthermore, to think that humiliating President Samakuva one manages to foment an internal rebellion is not knowing UNITA. Whatever the name of the UNITA president, he will be defended by all the party's militants," the document stresses.
The Standing Committee expressed "its full solidarity" for the "difficult but honorable work of leading UNITA during this phase" to Isaías Samakuva and also Adalberto Costa Júnior "president elected in accordance with UNITA statutes at the 2019 congress, unjustly annulled by Political Judgment No. 700/2021 of the Constitutional Court".
