Portugal starts trial of Angolan politician

The trial of Angola’s former vicepresident, Manuel Vicente, for alleged corruption started in his absence on Monday in the Portuguese capital, raising tension between the African country and its former colonial ruler.

Vicente, who headed Angola’s state oil company Sonangol, is accused by the Portuguese attorney-general of bribing prosecutor Orlando Figueira €763,500 to scrap two probes into suspected money laundering opened in 2011.

Five years ago, the Portuguese media began to report an investigation into senior Angolan officials, including Vicente, damaging relations.

The Luanda regime, now headed by President Joao Lourenco, has declared itself insulted by the allegations.

Vicente, 61, has denied any wrongdoing and has declined to attend the hearings, arguing that he has immunity because he served as vice-president from 2012 to 2017. His Portuguese lawyers and Angolan counterparts have asked the court to transfer the relevant part of the case to Angola.

“Immunity is not a personal privilege, it’s a matter of state,” defence lawyer Rui Patricio told the court on Monday.

The Portuguese prosecutor has rejected calls for a transfer, saying the “Angolan authorities will not follow up … or at least won’t give any guarantees that they will”.