LEO XIV IN AFRICA - Eastern Angola: plundered riches, calls for autonomy, and witchcraft

Luanda (Agenzia Fides) – The Angolan ecclesiastical province of Saurimo comprises the Diocese of Luena in Moxico Province, the Diocese of Dundo in Lunda Norte Province, and the Archdiocese of Saurimo in Lunda Sul Province.
The archdiocese and its two suffragan dioceses are located in eastern Angola, a region rich in natural resources from which the local population derives no benefit.

Discrimination against the inhabitants of eastern Angola (which includes the provinces of Moxico, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, and Moxico Leste) has been at the center of protests led by local civil society movements for years. The region is home to the country's largest diamond reserves and possesses Angola's most abundant water, timber, and agricultural land resources, yet, according to local representatives, it continues to be systematically treated as a "backyard to be exploited."

The inhabitants of Angola's eastern provinces lament the shortage of drinking water, the lack of roads connecting municipalities and provinces, the lack of electricity, the catastrophic health situation, the high number of children out of school and forced to beg, and the marginalization of the Tchokwe culture.

In 2006, the Portuguese Protectorate Movement of Lunda Tchokwé (Movimento do Protetorado Português da Lunda Tchokwé, MPPLT) was founded; It claims autonomy for the region from the rest of Angola, based on the protectorate established by Portugal at the end of the 19th century, when Lisbon's diplomacy secured sovereignty over a large part of the Angolan hinterland, where it had no actual presence. This was achieved through treaties with tribal leaders from various regions, which the movement claims to represent. The unified territory covers virtually the eastern half of Angola.

Movement leaders claim that this entire territory has never been administratively part of the Angolan state, but was illegally annexed when Angola gained its independence in 1975.

The MPPLT's statements do not clarify whether the movement's demands are for autonomy or independence. In a statement released on the occasion of the visit of then-Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to Angola, the movement mentioned these two objectives in the same paragraph: “The Lunda Tchokwe deserve independence by virtue of natural law and, legally, by virtue of the protectorate treaties signed by the Lunda ancestors with the Portuguese; autonomy, similar to that of the islands of Madeira and the Azores with Portugal.”

In a context of poverty, identity-based demands, and the absence of the state, there has been a rise in “magical practices” that can also impact public order, as was the case on January 30, 2021, when several people lost their lives in clashes with police during a demonstration organized by the MPPLT.

According to an investigation by journalist Rafael Marques de Morais, many of the march participants believed they were safe from injury and death thanks to magical rituals performed by the organizers and leaders of the movement before the demonstration. Morais, who published a book on the subject entitled "Miséria & Magia: Revolta em Cafunfo, claims that these "magical rituals" were used to mobilize the crowd and provoke clashes with security forces, using special, supernatural protections.
The phenomenon of witchcraft was strongly denounced by José Manuel Imbamba, Archbishop of Saurimo, who stated that witches "destroy communities, divide and impoverish families, and kill development" (see Fides, 25/6/2025). (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 7/4/2026)

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colonialism

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witchcraft

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poverty

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