"It is natural, understandable, that this protest be made, but it must be understood that nobody will be above the law, all citizens regardless of their quality must respect the law and in a state of emergency there is an emergency law," said Interior Ministry spokesman Waldemar José.
According to the spokesman of the Defence and Security Forces, during the state of emergency, the second extension of which ends on 10 May, "there is every legitimacy for the decree of the state of emergency to work and everyone must respect the provisions of it".
Last week Waldemar José announced at a press conference the names of several state figures who "violated the health fence", including a former minister, an incumbent judge and a deputy.
However, in defense of his affiliation, the Association of Judges of Angola "vehemently repudiated" the disclosure of the judge's name and the circumstances of his detention, considering that the measure represents "an attack on the judicial function and the right to privacy of the magistrate.
This Wednesday, in statements at the end of the inauguration of the first phase of the Public Security Centre, the person in charge assured that the magistrates and members of the corporation "are not turning their backs".
"And it doesn't even make sense, because this is a system that has to work and is working with trials across the country," he noted.
For the sub-commissioner of the police, "a judge, whose name has been made public, does not represent the judicial system completely", noting that at the level of the corporation "there are also displaced policemen, but the police have not stopped working".
Asked by Lusa why the police stopped revealing the names of offenders, Waldemar José said the police "have the discretionary power, the police are directed by the commander in chief and decide to make their communication based on what they think is relevant.
"It is not so relevant to make an announcement, for example, that a buzzard has been arrested and it is in the public interest that we decide which of the entities should be disclosed," he explained.
The police officer, who also lamented the degree of compliance with social isolation measures by citizens, "because there are still a lot of people in circulation who should be at home", questioned the reasons for many children being on the street.
With the easing of some measures in the second extension of the state of emergency, which maintains the health fence only for Luanda, Waldemar José admitted that about three million people are circulating daily in the capital.
Angola already has 36 confirmed cases of infection with the new coronavirus, including 23 active cases, two deaths and 11 recovered.
