Contacted by telephone from Bissau, the Guinean ambassador to Angola stated that those citizens of his country had been detained for several months, awaiting expulsion orders, after being caught by the Angolan authorities without residence documentation.
"These are people who did not commit crimes, but who were in a situation of administrative irregularity in Angola. They were facing expulsion proceedings that should have occurred at the expense of the offender", observed Apolinário Mendes de Carvalho.
By decision of the President, João Lourenço, the expulsion order of the 23 Guineans was reversed and they will still be able to benefit from the legalization process, explained Apolinário Mendes de Carvalho.
The Guinean diplomat welcomed the interventions of the Presidents of both countries, praised the commitment of the Guinean embassy in Angola and also highlighted the opening of different institutions in that country in a broad process of extraordinary legalization of citizens of Guinea-Bissau.
The process, which began last November, will allow the legalization of around two thousand Guinean citizens currently illegal in Angola, said ambassador Mendes de Carvalho.
The diplomat noted that the lack of documentation for Guineans, who work in informal commerce, construction and baking, causes them to turn to other people to carry out their activity and even use bank accounts that do not belong to them.
"All of this made their adequate social integration difficult and negatively influenced their family and social security" in Angola, said the ambassador, pointing to cases of Guineans who have been in that country "for more than 20 years".
Apolinário Mendes de Carvalho indicated that the extraordinary legalization of Guineans in Angola "has always been a request from the community", but also "one of the embassy's missions", officially opened in September 2021.
"The State of Guinea-Bissau had not done enough, there was a lack of an embassy that would put the problems of undocumented immigrants on the table, which has happened lately, after hard work and which has always counted on the political will of both parties", noted Mendes de Carvalho.
One month after the opening of the extraordinary legalization process for Guineans in Angola, said the ambassador, around 700 people have already filed their requests for regularization, although the goal is to reach around two thousand in irregular situations.
According to Mendes de Carvalho, around three thousand Guineans may currently be residing in Angola, many with dual nationality, some with regular residency status, he said.
"Many Guineans came to Angola during the economic boom, but with the economic crisis many left" for other countries, he highlighted.
Apolinário Mendes de Carvalho said that, based on the information he has, two citizens of Guinea-Bissau are currently detained in Angolan cells on trial for crimes of rape against minors, both already in the final phase of serving their sentences.
