Angola is preparing to mark half a century of independence and sovereignty on November 11, 2025. The date is symbolic and invites celebration of achievements, but also reflection on the still-open wounds of a civil war that lasted nearly three decades, signifying political maturity, full reconciliation, and shared memory.

However, the testimony of former combatants and opposition leaders has been casting a critical eye on how the country has constructed and recorded its collective memory. Among these voices stands out that of Bastos Ngangwe, current UNITA provincial secretary in Mavinga and former political commissar within the Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FALA).

According to Ngangwe, "The one in power is the only one telling the story." This phrase isn't a simple rant, it's just a rant. It's an adaptation of George Orwell's famous phrase, "history is written by the victors," to the Angolan reality, and it reminds us that independence brought formal political freedom, but that the reconciliation of memories has yet to be achieved.

Ngangwe thus attempts to show that official history has been presented unilaterally, dictated exclusively by the ruling MPLA, since the civil war that followed November 11, 1975, shaping not only the country's political destiny but also the official narrative that today dominates school textbooks, memorials, and state speeches.

Based on their testimony, but also in light of broader debates on national reconciliation and historical justice, it becomes possible to understand the weight of silenced memories, the challenges of a country still marked by divisions, and the urgency of recognizing all the voices that participated in the liberation process.

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A native of Bié, Bastos Ngangwe grew up in an Angola mired in conflict. The civil war that broke out shortly after independence forced him to leave his homeland and follow his father, a UNITA commander and activist from the beginning. His destination was Jamba, in Cuando Cubango, the place that would become UNITA headquarters and a major symbol of Jonas Savimbi's struggle.

Ngangwe began his academic training in the so-called “Free Lands of Angola," areas under UNITA control during the conflict. It was in the forests of southeastern Angola that he learned his first letters, before enrolling at the Loth Malheiro Savimbi Polyvalent Institute, the movement's largest school.

He later pursued military training, specializing as a political commissar, the figure responsible for motivating troops and ensuring morale in intense combat against the Cuban-backed MPLA government forces.

As he recalls, Jamba was not just a military camp. For years, it became an administrative and political center for UNITA, with schools, cultural activities, makeshift hospitals, and parallel government structures.

Ngangwe therefore rejects the narrative, so often attributed to Jonas Savimbi's movement, that the space was marked by repression. For him, the idea of ​​arbitrary arrests and systematic abuse does not correspond to the reality he experienced; according to him, what existed was a military discipline comparable to a father's authority over a son.

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Located in the heart of Cuando Cubango, Jamba became more than a barracks: it served as a true parallel capital of UNITA. It was there that Jonas Savimbi led military operations, organized governance structures, and conveyed political guidance.

Savimbi, described by Ngangwe as an "open man who dealt with all social strata," particularly valued education. He enjoyed visiting schools and encouraging students, conveying the idea that the integral development of humankind was the foundation of a free society.

Despite allegations of human rights violations associated with Jamba, Ngangwe insists that the existing cases were limited to isolated reprimands. Crimes in the "true sense of the word," he says, would not have occurred. He acknowledges, however, that the war claimed victims, but defends Savimbi's integrity, to whom he attributes respect for human life, including that of opposing military personnel.

During nearly three decades of war, Cuando Cubango was the scene of violent clashes between UNITA and FAPLA, supported by Cuban troops. Jamba, however, remained untouched, a symbol of the movement's resilience.

According to Ngangwe, UNITA's strategy was based on wearing down the enemy, launching rearguard attacks, and forcing them to retreat. One example is Operation "Last Assault," a government offensive against Jamba that ultimately failed.

The FAPLA were pursued as far as Cuito Cuanavale and were only able to return because the FALA opened a corridor to prevent their annihilation. This gesture, Ngangwe argues, reflects Savimbi's value for human life, even in the context of war.

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The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale (1987-1988) remains one of the most debated episodes in Angolan military history. For the government, it symbolizes not only the resistance of forces allied with the MPLA, but also a milestone in the liberation of Southern Africa, having influenced the end of apartheid.

However, Ngangwe criticizes this version, considering it a distorted interpretation. In his view, the region's peoples' struggle for independence did not depend on what occurred in Cuito Cuanavale. Furthermore, he laments the scant reference to UNITA in official memorials, arguing that a fair approach should also include the movement's generals.

The contrast between official memory and that of former UNITA combatants illustrates Angola's difficulty in constructing an inclusive national narrative. As Angola approaches 50 years of independence, criticism persists that figures like Jonas Savimbi and Holden Roberto are systematically erased from ceremonies and awards ceremonies.

For Ngangwe, this omission is a sign of the absence of true reconciliation. Regardless of political differences and armed conflicts, both Savimbi and Holden Roberto played a decisive role in the liberation process. To ignore their contribution, he believes, is to deny an essential part of the country's history.

Reconciliation, he argues, remains to be achieved and will only be complete when the other is recognized, accepting that independence was a collective achievement, with efforts and sacrifices coming from various fronts, thus giving a voice to all participants in the historical process.

As long as official narratives prioritize only one version, the wounds of war will remain open. The country's history, he believes, will one day be told by historians and, above all, by those who lived through and participated in the events.