Florbela Catarina "Bela" Malaquias (born 26 January 1959) is an Angolan journalist, lawyer and politician who is leader of the

Humanist Party of Angola The Humanist Party of Angola (, PHA) is a political party in Angola led by Florbela Malaquias. It was legalised by the Constitutional Court on 27 May 2022. History The party won two seats in the National Assembly In politics, a national ...

Early life

Malaquias was born in Luso,

Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...

. Despite growing up during a turbulent time in Angolan and African history, given the rise of several

national liberation movements National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, she described her childhood as generally "very quiet" and "happy." Her father, Nelson, was a railway clerk for Benguela railway and was a supporter of Angolan independence. He was arrested several times by the colonial police, PIDE-DGS, for expressing these views, and was part of one of the first cells of

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

in what is now

Moxico Province Moxico (Portuguese spelling) or Moshiko (Bantu spelling) is the largest province of Angola. It has an area of , and covers 18% of the landmass of Angola. The province has a population of 758,568 (2014 census) and a population density of approxim ...

. As her father was transferred from jail to jail, passing through Nova Lisboa and

Missombo Missombo is a city and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cuando Cubango. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of A ...

, Malaquias, her five brothers, and her mother, Amelia, eventually followed him when he was transferred to the open-air St. Nicholas prison centre in

Namibe Province Namibe Province is a province of Angola. Under Portuguese rule it was the Moçâmedes District. It has an area of 57,091 km2 and had a 2014 census population of 495,326. The port and city of Moçâmedes is the capital of the province with a ...

, a site often used to torture pro-independence activists and militants. Malaquias would also join UNITA early on in its history.

Career

Malaquias fought for

during the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

, even authoring the anthem of the Angolan Women's League, UNITA's women's wing. However, she later came to hold a strong negative opinion of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi starting in the 1980s, whom she later stated was a "tyrant and murderer" for orchestrating "Red September", overseeing the torture and killing of dozens of people, including many of his own officers, their wives and children, in an anti-witchcraft ritual. She was the only female candidate for President of Angola in the 2022 Angolan general election. She came in 5th place, but was elected a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. Malaquias has a degree in law from

Agostinho Neto University The Agostinho Neto University ( pt, Universidade Agostinho Neto) is the largest public university of Angola, based in Luanda and in the nearby city of Talatona, in Angola. In the academic year 2005–06, 68 licensing courses were ministered b ...

References

1959 births Living people Leaders of political parties in Angola 21st-century Angolan politicians 21st-century Angolan women politicians Members of the National Assembly (Angola) Angolan journalists Angolan lawyers Agostinho Neto University alumni {{Angola-politician-stub