Malundo Kudiqueba
Adalberto da Costa Júnior has dropped a political bombshell by bluntly accusing President João Lourenço of attempting to bribe him in order to push through a constitutional amendment that would allow for a third presidential term. The accusation is serious. Extremely serious. And what’s most alarming is the deafening silence from the accused.
In a country where democracy is still struggling to mature, where public trust in institutions is fragile, and where power often appears to stand above the law, such a claim cannot be brushed aside. When the leader of the main opposition party publicly alleges that the President of the Republic tried to buy his support to cling to power, Angola faces a critical moment in its political life. And that moment demands urgent clarification.
If the accusation is false, it must be firmly denied.
If it is true, it is a scandal of the highest order.
Either way, silence becomes complicity.
João Lourenço has both a moral and institutional obligation to respond. Ignoring the allegation or attempting to drown it with state propaganda would be a grave strategic and historical mistake. Because this is not merely a political spat between two leaders — it’s a question of the very integrity of Angola’s political system.
Adalberto da Costa Júnior stated plainly: “They tried to bribe me so I would agree to a constitutional revision allowing a third term. I refused.” This is not a rumour. It is a direct and unequivocal accusation placing the President at the heart of an alleged attempt to subvert the democratic order.
If João Lourenço remains silent, he will be tainted by suspicion. And a suspicion of this magnitude cannot be erased by eloquent speeches or foreign visits.
Angola’s history is filled with leaders who clung to power through constitutional manoeuvring. But if João Lourenço, who once branded himself the “president of change,” is attempting to follow the same path, then the nation faces yet another political fraud wrapped in the same packaging of the past.
By allegedly refusing this offer, Adalberto da Costa Júnior has positioned himself as a symbol of resistance to authoritarian temptation. But he has also thrown down the gauntlet: it is now up to the President to prove he is different. Because if he does not, he is validating the silence that condemns him.
Democracy dies when grave accusations become routine and leaders no longer bother to respond.
Angola cannot continue to pretend all is well while the foundations of its democratic state are corroded by unanswered suspicions.
In this case, silence is not prudence.
It is fear.
It is guilt.
If João Lourenço wishes to preserve the dignity and authority of his office, he must speak out — not through vague statements or press secretaries, but with the directness this moment demands. If he fails to do so, history will remember him as the President who tried to buy the Constitution… and failed.
Telefort, 8 June 2025
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