Angola investigating former general challenging Lourenço for party leadership

Angola is investigating a former general challenging President João Lourenço for leadership of the country’s ruling MPLA.

The country’s attorney general’s office said on Tuesday that retired general Higino Carneiro is under investigation for embezzlement and money laundering while governor of Cuando-Cubango province from 2012 to 2016.

Carneiro said in a statement on Wednesday that he is ready to cooperate with the investigation and defend his integrity.

The MPLA has held power since Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Its party leader traditionally stands as its presidential candidate.

Lourenço is near the end of his second term. But he’s said he will look to stay on as party leader at the MPLA’s December congress. This has led to speculation that he may run for a third term, something that would require a constitutional amendment.

The MPLA won the last general elections in 2022 with just over 51 percent, its lowest ever result.

The former rebel movement UNITA, which fought a bitter 27-year civil war against the MPLA government, got nearly 44 percent, up from 27 percent in 2017.