The Emergence of a Third Liberation Movement in Angola: The Founding History of UNITA, 1964–1966

Existing scholarship on the foundation of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) as an anti-colonial movement has largely adhered to one of two interpretations of Angolan nationalism: one emphasising ethnicity and the other highlighting elite rivalries. The party’s narrative centres on the Muangai meeting in the Angolan bush on 13 March 1966 as its formal founding act. We argue that these interpretations are overly simplistic – either by reducing UNITA’s origins to an ethnic framework or by portraying its formation in 1966 as an isolated event, disconnected from earlier negotiations and political efforts. This article examines the process that led to the formal establishment of UNITA as an anti-colonial movement by identifying networks, actors, alliances and motivations that contributed to its formation between 1964 and 1966, including a little-known period of co-operation between Jonas Savimbi and his later enemy, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). This is achieved through a multi-source approach that integrates extensive archival materials with narratives from founding members of the movement, including memoirs and interviews, which favours the critical examination of conflicting viewpoints. By focusing on the emergence of UNITA, this article helps to shed light on the complex fragmentation of early Angolan nationalism and its inability to form a functioning united front against colonialism.