ABSTRACT
Angola has enjoyed mostly peace since April 2002 and in September 2008 held legislative elections for the first since 1992. From being one of the most protracted conflicts in Africa, Angola became, within five years, one of the most successful economies in sub-Saharan Africa. This chapter charts the fortunes of the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), assesses how successfully it has transformed itself from a rebel movement into the leading party of the democratic opposition, and what its future prospects are following its poor results in the September 2008 legislative elections. War raged in Angola for four decades, except for the period between May 1991, when a ceasefire was signed, and September 1992 when the first national election was held. The nationalist struggle started in February 1961 with an uprising in Luanda. The next month, strikes, uprisings and massacres of white settlers shook the cotton and coffee-growing areas of northern Angola. In 1964, following splits in the nationalist movement, Jonas Savimbi left the ‘government in exile’ in which he had served as foreign minister. After visiting a number of mainly communist countries, Savimbi founded UNITA in 1966. UNITA guerrillas began operating in eastern Angola in 1966 and by the early 1970s were responsible for some attacks along the Benguela railway corridor. By exploiting the feelings of exclusion in Angola’s largest ethnic group, the Ovimbundu, Savimbi built up his own constituency in the centre and south of the country.
