Africa-Press – Angola. The National Political Commission of the Humanist Party of Angola (PHA) has referred the case to the Constitutional Court regarding the unanimous dismissal of Florbela Malaquias from the position of president, confirmed in Luanda the vice-president of the National Justice Council of the PHA, Nsimba Luwawa.
The spokesperson for the National Political Commission, who spoke to Jornal de Angola on Wednesday, revealed that the dossier sent to the Constitutional Court was prepared based on an investigation that uncovered some infractions committed by President Florbela Malaquias.
“The National Political Committee held an extraordinary meeting that decided to suspend the president preventively and, at the same time, to open an investigation. Once the investigation was completed, and several violations were discovered, the document was submitted to the party’s National Judicial Council, which, in turn, initiated disciplinary proceedings against the president,” he explained.
According to the PHA spokesperson, President Florbela Malaquias was initially suspended as a precautionary measure, while internal investigations were carried out to investigate alleged statutory violations, and formal disciplinary proceedings were subsequently instituted.
Nsimba Luwawa also revealed that the suspension and dismissal were carried out in accordance with the party’s statutes and based on the General Labor Law, with the party leader having been summoned to give statements, within the scope of the right to adversarial proceedings, without, however, having attended the summons.
“The president was notified on July 28th to exercise her right to defense, but she did not appear. According to the law, we waited three more days for a possible justification, which also did not happen,” he stated.
Legitimacy for dismissal
The vice president of the National Justice Council clarified that the PHA statute is silent regarding the legitimacy of a congress or convention to remove the party president.
Nsimba Luwawa clarified that “it is not enshrined in the party’s statute that only a convention or congress of members can remove a sitting president.
“The statute clearly states that dismissal is a disciplinary measure and does not require approval by the Convention. The Convention deals with the election of party bodies, but disciplinary proceedings fall under the jurisdiction of the National Political Committee and the National Judicial Council,” the politician explained.
Regarding the congress called by Florbela Malaquias, the spokesperson for the Political Commission was categorical in stating that it was “an act without legitimacy”, given that the leader was suspended from her duties when she called it.
“She was suspended and subsequently removed from office. In this capacity, she lacked statutory standing to call any convention. The call is made by the president of the National Political Commission, upon the decision of this body, which did not occur,” he said.
The spokesperson also stated that his opponents are “shooting in all directions” in a desperate attempt to discredit his administration. “They’re saying things, fabricating speeches, and everything else. They’re coming at him with everything, as if they’re shooting in all directions to see if they can hit their target,” he stated, adding that political opponents have even accused him of serious crimes, including an alleged assassination attempt on the ousted president.
The leader acknowledged that any internal conflict must be resolved through the appropriate judicial bodies. “The proper forum to address this is the court. Court decisions are binding on everyone. If they think they’re right, they can go to court. It’s as simple as that,” he assured, convinced of the fairness of the decisions made.
Irregular transfers of party money
Florbela Malaquias was accused by the Political Commission of committing acts of internal misconduct, such as the misuse of PHA funds, in addition to violating parliamentary ethics.
According to a statement from the Political Commission, Bela Malaquias will have transferred, without authorization, the amount, in kwanzas, of 96,300,000.00 (ninety-six million and three hundred thousand kwanzas) from the party’s account to the bank account of Amélia Ussova Malaquias Chico, at BFA, between October 2022 and December 2024.
The note states that this operation was carried out “without any justification, and without the approval of the management”, also highlighting other acts such as the transfer, between 15 and 19 February 2024, of a total of four million kwanzas from the party’s account to the president’s personal account, as stated in the alleged note.
The accusations against the president of the PHA also include the withdrawal of 444 thousand kwanzas, on February 22, 2024, to pay her personal dues as a lawyer at the Angolan Bar Association (OAA).
Bela Malaquias is also accused of misappropriating an all-terrain vehicle belonging to the party, which was given to her son, Telmo Malaquias, and placing four other party vehicles to operate as personalized taxis, without providing accounts.
The president of the PHA is also accused of not submitting the annual accounts for 2023 and 2024 to the National Financial Audit Commission, in addition to carrying out opaque financial management acts, without any assistance to the provincial structures, despite the existence of an annual budget allocation of more than 63 million kwanzas.
The case in SIC-Geral
Nsimba Luwawa confirmed that he, along with two other PHA leaders, were the target of criminal proceedings, but assured that they have already given statements and are confident about the legality of their actions.
“These lawsuits were just to intimidate us and distract us. We’re not worried. We can go as far as necessary,” he assured Jornal de Angola.
According to Nsimba Luwawa, the disciplinary process instructor’s report was sent to the National Political Commission, which met extraordinarily on August 16 and unanimously decided to dismiss Florbela Malaquias.
The politician vehemently rejected the existence of two wings within the Humanist Party of Angola, stating that the party remains united and that only the National Political Commission, recognized by the Constitutional Court, holds institutional legitimacy.
“The internal struggle ended with the Constitutional Court’s ruling, which recognized the illegitimacy of the former president’s actions after illegally expelling founding members. From that moment on, the conflict became between Ms. Florbela and the party’s statutes,” he explained.
The politician reiterated that the convening of a convention outside the legitimate statutory bodies constitutes an attempt to legitimize illegal provincial directorates, appointed unilaterally by the former PHA leader.
Disputes and mutual accusations
Spokesperson Nsimba Luwawa accused Florbela Malaquias’s group of launching a disinformation campaign, including the claim that current party leaders used a fake stamp on official documents.
“The stamp is legitimate; it was made when the party was legalized. I myself was present at its creation. There’s no need for forgery,” he said.
He added that the dismissal has been formally recognized and has already been communicated to the Constitutional Court. “We are calm and confident that we followed all legal and statutory procedures,” he reaffirmed.
Congress on August 30th
According to Roque Sozinho, a convention has been duly called for August 30th, where PHA members will decide the fate of the party president.
The official stated that the party never had access to the impeachment proceedings. “Despite being illegal and violating our bylaws, we also never had access to this impeachment process. Rather than talking about impeachment of the party president, they should present the impeachment process, because to reach impeachment as a final decision, they present a commission, as if it were legitimate,” he stated.
According to Roque Sozinho, the aforementioned document, drawn up by the dissidents, speaks of the reinstatement of the expelled members and their return to the Political Commission, warning that, due to the irregularity, it becomes “infunctional”.
“The aforementioned agreement speaks of the reinstatement of colleagues who were expelled and also of the Commission’s resumption of operations. However, this Commission is ‘ineffective,’ because some colleagues are no longer part of the PHA, having resigned, and others are active in other political parties,” he emphasized.
Roque Sozinho indicated the existence of a criminal case against three of the members of the party’s Political Commission.
“The three are now indicted for committing crimes, and a case is underway with the General Criminal Investigation Service. How is it possible that individuals facing criminal charges at the SIC level are part of an illegitimate political committee, preventing the congress from taking place, and today appear to be talking, for example, first about the suspension and now about the impeachment of the president?” Roque Sozinho lamented.
Reactions in defense of Bela Malaquias
Jornal de Angola had access to a press release issued by the PHA management, signed by president Florbela Malaquias, who considered the information released about her dismissal to be untrue, which she considers “fake news”.
For PHA member Roque Sozinho, the dissemination of news on some digital platforms about the dismissal of “Bela” Malaquias comes from resigning members who, through illegal means, intend to remove her from office.
“Yes, unfortunately, the information about the de facto impeachment exists, but it is information that is passed on by insurgent colleagues here, or dissidents, who are trying at all costs, and by the most ill-advised means, to remove the president of the Humanist Party of Angola,” he said.
Roque Sozinho emphasized that this process would only proceed through a convention. “There is information about the impeachment, but it cannot proceed because the president can only cease to be president through the convention. According to our statutes, it is the highest body. Therefore, neither the National Political Commission nor a group of individuals claiming to be members of that commission can impeach the president,” he said.
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