Africa Monitor

Africa Monitor Intelligence

Angola: Differences in Lourenço Circle Exposed by Constitutional Court Crisis

The action of two wings, around PR JOÃO LOURENÇO (JL), with divergent positions on current governance issues, is identified in the case of certification of the UNITA Congress by the Constitutional Court (TC) - which ended in its annotation. One of said groups is led by Gen. JOSÉ FERREIRA TAVARES (JFT), in charge of "special missions", using informal methods, often aiming opposition political parties.

In the formal framework, JL is surrounded by four senior officials from the State apparatus, who have greater direct access to the PR (EDELTRUDES COSTA, FRANCISCO FURTADO, CAROLINA CERQUEIRA, FERNANDO MIALA). But it is the informal structure led by the JFT that most presents "practical" results, often using rudimentary expedients, which when exposed negatively affect the image of the regime and the PR itself.

JFT´s informal group is responsible for the main effort aimed at the removal of ADALBERTO COSTA JÚNIOR (ACJ) from the UNITA Presidency, and the monitoring of political party installation commissions. It has the assistance of NORBERTO GARCIA, in the recently renamed to the restructured Office of Strategic Studies and Analysis (GEAE) and MANUEL DAVID MENDES (MDM), an independent MP elected in UNITA lists and former staff of the extinct Ministry of State Security (MINSE). READ MORE