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United Kingdom of Lunda Tchokwe (Angola)

Movement seeking autonomy

Last modified: 2025-05-24 by bruce berry
Keywords: angola | unita | black rooster |
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Image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 29 Mar 2024 See also:

United Kingdom of Lunda Tchokwe

A Portuguese journalist recently shed more light on this movement seeking autonomy from Angola.

The Movement of the Protectorate of Lunda Tchokwe (Movimento do Protetorado de Lunda Tchokwe - MPLT / MPRLT) was founded in 2006.  Its name refers to the protectorate established in the late 19th century by Portugal over part of inner Angola - more or less all of the eastern half of the country - that could not be actually settled. Portugal signed treaties (between 1885 and 1894) with several sovereign tribes, which the MPLT claims to represent now. The MPLT claims that this territory was never administratively part of colonial Angola and was therefore was illegally incorporated to independent Angola in 1975.

In 2019, during the official visit of the President of Portugal to Angola, the MPLT released statement with some very ambiguous wording.
"Lunda Tchokwe deserves independence by natural law and, juridical, by the protectorate treaties signed by the Lunda ancestors with the Portuguese, that is autonomy similar to that granted to Madeira and the Azores by the Portugal."

The MPLT rejects violence and armed struggle. On 30 January 2021, between 6 and 15 civilians were killed during a street demonstration, which motivated a police inquiry and a strong protest from the Roman Catholic Church. The authorities claimed that the demonstrators had attacked a police squad, which was strongly denied by the MPLT.

The MPLT maintains an ambiguous stance regarding Portugal. The movement vehemently criticizes Portugal's colonial history, but asks the Portuguese government to "correct the injustice represented by the integration of the Lunda territory into Angola and to respect the treaties signed with the ancestors".
Filipe d'Avillez, (Renascença) 01 February 2021sent by Ivan Sache, 05 Feb 2021

I have found on Wikipedia a reference to a new secessionist movement with a flag in Angola. The United Kingdom of Lunda Tchokwe is a small movement claiming eastern half of Angola (500 000 km2 and about two million people). The Lunda and the Tchokwe are two related Bantu tribes. The traditional Tchokwe kingdom was conquered by Portugal only around 1920. This struggle for independence (obviously doubtful) is motivated by diamond mining in the area. The capital is Luena City. The Tchokwe are known for their artisan woodcraft masks.

The flag is red-white-green-white-red (ratio 3:1:4:1:3) with a yellow sun containing a black ornamental emblem in the centre of the middle stripe.
Jakub Grombíř, 18 June 2011

Here are some images from the defunct blog above, showing diagrammatic flag images and a photos of flags in use, incl. one taken in late 2014:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/.../Bandeira.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/.../IMG_0186.JPG
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/.../JMateus.JPG
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/.../Bandeira_Lunda.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/.../AfricaLUNDA.jpg

The flag shown is clearly 3:5 or thereabouts, not more oblong, and the height of the white stripes is more than half that of the red ones. The specs given by Jakub Grombíř and illustrated by Jason Saber must come from a different source, attesting (or at least suggesting) variations in the exact measures used in flag design and production - which is not surprising.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 29 Mar 2024


Emblem detail

Image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 29 Mar 2024

The central emblem seems to be an example of lusona, a traditional ideographic quasi-writing artform, used also in beadwork and embroidery - see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusona

On the mentioned 2014 photo it can be seen how the strict geometric accuracy of the black lines and dots (lusona is traditionally very finicky about these details) contrasts sharply with the asymmetric and haphazard way the sunbeams were added around the central disc onto the green and white areas.

António Martins-Tuválkin, 29 Mar 2024

This particular device is the traditional lusona symbol for antelope footprint, as stated in an English language children activities book:
https://misfitsandheroes.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/sona-3.jpg
It is used in temporary sand drawings, which accompany oral tradition storytelling.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 18 Jan 2025