Angola blocks African opposition leaders entry for Unita event
Luanda, Angola. Opposition leaders from across Africa said they were denied entry to Angola on March 13, 2025 Â to attend the anniversary celebrations of the Angolan opposition party Unita.
Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, Venâncio Mondlane of Mozambique and several other politicians from across Africa and beyond are being held at Luanda airport, where they arrived earlier today to attend an Angolan political party anniversary.
There was no immediate explanation, but Mr Lissu cited immigration protocols when he protested on Thursday afternoon.
"This shabby treatment of nationals of brotherly African nations by Angolan immigration authorities is totally unacceptable and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms," Mr Lissu wrote on his X account.
Angolan immigration authorities are holding up and denying entry into Angola for me and a delegation of more than twenty senior leaders and representatives of political parties from across southern Africa who arrived in Luanda earlier today for a planned two day meeting.
Mr Lissu said Angola had violated his rights because he did not need a visa to enter the country.
But several other politicians have also been detained, including Mr Mondlane, a former Mozambican presidential candidate. Mozambicans too do not need visas to enter Angola.
Kenya's Edwin Sifuna, Secretary General of the Orange Democratic Movement, and Senator of Nairobi also said he had been refused entry by immigration despite having all the necessary documents.
UNITA President Adalberto Costa invited us to Angola. The Government has denied us entry! pic.twitter.com/dwfAXTZiBx
A DIPLOMATIC SCANDAL> Angola denies Zanzibar Vice President entry into the country to attend the conference. His passport held. Asked to board a flight back. @mfa_tanzania what do you do about this disrespect shown by Angola to Tanzania?
They were travelling to Angola to take part in an international conference in Benguela organised by Angola's main opposition party to celebrate its 59th anniversary.
The reasons for the ban are not yet known, although Unita sources claimed that Angola's ruling party (MPLA) was behind it as part of a strategy to sabotage the anniversary by preventing its guests from attending.
