At the entrance to the premises where the Ministry of Culture and Tourism operates, in the municipality of Talatona, south of Luanda, protesters, holding posters, shouted in chorus "Angola belongs to the Angolans, it is not from Edir Macedo" (founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God – IURD).
"No more Corruption", "No vasectomy", "The President of the Republic's flag is against corruption", "Reform is irreversible" read the posters displayed at the protest by young people, women, IURD workers and pastors.
At the entrance to the so-called "Os Clássicos de Talatona" building, located on the street where several Ministries operate, namely Culture and Tourism, they asked for the dismissal of the minister of the sector, shouting in unison "Filipe Zau, Out".
After singing the National Anthem of Angola, they remained there, under the gaze of some members of the national police, demonstrating against the decree of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism that recognizes the new name of IURD Angola, now Church of the Kingdom of God in Angola (IRDA), and determines the transfer of all assets to IRDA.
These faithful, attached to the dissident wing of IURD Angola, the well-known Angolan wing led by Bishop Bizerra Luís, considered that the document signed by Minister Filipe Zau benefits the so-called Brazilian wing led by Bishop Alberto Segunda.
"We are here to protest against a decision, a decree by the Minister of Culture which, in our opinion, seriously violates the law (...). Angola is a secular State where there is separation between the State and the church", Josualdo told Lusa Hyacinth.
For this IURD Angola faithful, the decree signed by the Minister of Culture and Tourism "directly interferes in the internal life of the church".
"We, last year, elected a new leader who is Bishop Bezerra Luís", he highlighted.
Among the women from the IURD choir, dressed in uniform, who joined the protest, was Aida Gaspar, who expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation, asking for "legality to be restored".
"As Angolans we want legality to be restored, so we are tired of this IURD case, because many families have been disrupted, many marriages destroyed due to this situation," she said.
Wilson Nianga, a member of the IURD for 24 years, also joined the protest march because he considered that the decree creating the IRDA "serious violates the statutes of the IURD".
Pastor Francisco Ernesto, who contests the leadership of the Brazilian wing, said that the Angolan wing is reformist and has always worked towards unity among Angolan brothers.
"We have always worked so that there would be a conciliation, a union. A few months ago there was an agreement, but they held a completely illegal assembly, (...) there were clearly violations", he stated.
The changes resulting from the extraordinary meeting of the board of directors of the Angolan IURD, held on 8 February, were confirmed in the March decree of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, consulted this Friday by Lusa.
The document recognizes changes relating to the new name, logos, symbols, statutes and internal regulations.
In November 2019, IURD dissidents in Angola accused the Brazilian leadership of financial crimes, racism, discrimination and abuse of authority, among others, and formed a reformist wing, which was recognized by the Government as the legitimate representative of the Brazilian religious movement.
Subsequently, four members of the IURD leadership were made defendants, who were acquitted in March 2022, of most of the charges, except for the former person in charge Honorilton Gonçalves, sentenced to three years in prison, a suspended sentence, for the crime of physical violence and psychological.
The conflict gave rise to wings – the one of Brazilian origin, now led by the Angolan Alberto Segunda, and the dissident wing, Angolan, led by Bizerra Luís – which claimed to be the legitimate representatives of the church founded by Edir Macedo.
