What is Cabinda?
Cabinda or Kabinda is constitutional republic located in West Central Africa. It is one of the largest producers of oil in Africa.
Is Cabinda part of Angola?
No! Cabinda consists of three kingdoms: Kakongo, Loango and Ngoyo and was the result of the signing of three treaties: Chinfuma, September 29, 1883, Chicamba, 26 December 1884 and that of Simulambuco, February 1, 1885, the parties were the Traditional Chiefs of Cabinda and the Crown of Portugal. Legally Cabinda was a Portuguese Protectorate. The Treaty of Simulambuco was ratified the same year by the Berlin Conference of 1885 held under the aegis of France, Great Britain and King Leopold II of Belgium. Since February 16, 1885, Cabinda was ruled by a Portuguese Governor Plenipotentiary dealing directly with Lisbon. The Portuguese Constitution of 1933 in force until 1975 made a clear distinction between Cabinda and Angola in the first paragraph of Article 2, Title One. Cabinda was headed administratively by the Portuguese authority residing in Luanda from 1956, but remained legally separate from Angola.
How did Cabinda come to be occupied by Angola?
For financial reasons in 1956, Portugal could no longer afford its two Governors, one in Angola Colony and the other in Cabinda Protectorate. Thus Portugal united the governance of these two entities under a Governor General in Luanda, the capital of Angola. This merger was made to facilitate and ease the Portuguese administration. the Alvor Agreement of 1975 between Portugal and the three Angolan movements, MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA ignored FLEC and in violation of Portuguese law declared Cabinda part of Angola. This last political act of betrayal by Portugal cannot however extinguish the existence of the Cabindans as a separate and distinct people from Angolans.
Has Cabinda been recognized as a nation?
Yes! On October 06, 1960, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Congo (Brazzaville) spoke at the United Nations, a long speech in which he explained the problem of Cabindan people and their right to self-determination. At the Summit of the Organization of African Unity held in Cairo in 1964 the issue of Cabinda was again placed under the Committee’s program of the decolonization of Africa and Cabinda was recognized as the 39th state to be decolonized (Angola was the 35th). On the occasion of the 24th Session of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity held in Addis Ababa, February 19, 1975, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Congo and Zaire submitted two proposals, in favour of Cabinda.
What are the boundaries of Cabinda?
Cabinda is a territory of Central Africa with an area of 10,000 km2 and with an estimated population of over 1 million inhabitants. Kabinda is bounded on the north by the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville); South and East by Democratic Republic of Congo. To the west it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean with over 100 kilometres of coastline and offshore an Exclusive Economic Zone extending out 200 kilometres. There is no common border between Cabinda and Angola.
Who is the government of Cabinda?
In 1963 in Loango (Pointe Noire) in Congo, what is now the Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda (FLEC) was founded through the merger of three political movements. From the beginning, the battle of FLEC was directed against Portuguese colonialism. With the consent of the last Portuguese District Governor of Cabinda, Manuel Freire Themudo Barata , FLEC opened an office in Cabinda City, Cabinda’s capital and in 1975 declared independence as the Republic of Cabinda. The current government derives its legitimacy from the 1975 declaration of independence supplemented by the Constitution of 2011.
Who is the government of Cabinda?
Aphonse Massanga is the President of the Republic of Cabinda and Chairman of the Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda; Dr. Joel Batila is the Premier, Stephan Barros is the Vice president and Gabriel Homem is the Minister of Defense.