According to the UCKG, since 13 May 2022 it has sent letters to the authorities of the municipality of Talatona, south of Luanda, to the municipal and district police command and on 24 May to the GPL, but has not been authorized to carry out the activity in a space dedicated to the church.
The UCKG says that the use of its space "does not require a request for authorization, but a statement", and considers that the way in which the church proceeded "does not constitute a breach of any law".
Even after complying with all the protocols, the UCKG claims to have been surprised by the GPL's response, saying that "the celebrations of religious activities that must be authorized by the competent local authorities are limited to legally recognized religious entities".
"Analysing the written communication, we find that the Universal Church has Bishop António Miguel Ferraz as its representative, who signs the request for the activity, has no legitimacy for the purpose and is therefore not authorized to carry out the aforementioned activity", says the UCKG, citing the GPL response.
The UCKG, recognized in Angola since 1992, recalls that "it has an internal statute, in which its legitimate representatives were elected by a duly convened general assembly, with Bishop António Miguel Ferraz being the legitimate representative of the church in Angola".
To the faithful, the direction of the UCKG appeals to remain "calm and we will be", because, he observes, "we are confident in divine and human justice, always believing in Angolan laws, as well as in a definitive outcome of the matter".
A judgment by the Luanda District Court (TCL), dated March 31, 2022, acquitted the UCKG pastors of the crimes they had been accused of and ordered the "lift of the seizures and the immediate return" of the temples, closed two years ago, as Bishop Alberto Segunda said last April.
Alberto Segunda (leader of the Brazilian wing), who was speaking at a press conference, reported that the reopening of the UCKG's temples was followed by alleged "threats and intimidation" by officials from the National Institute of Religious Affairs (INAR) and police officers against their faithful.
The bishop asked, on the occasion, for the intervention of the President, João Lourenço, to "mediate the conflict" that persists, especially in relation to the more than 100 temples, and for "special attention" to the more than 500 thousand faithful.
The direction of the UCKG recognized by INAR is headed by Bishop Valente Bizerra Luís, who coordinated the reform commission that came into conflict with the Brazilian leadership of the UCKG in 2019.
Both wings - the one of Brazilian origin, now led by the Angolan Alberto Segunda, and the dissident Angolan wing, led by Bizerra Luís - claim to be the legitimate representatives of the church founded by Edir Macedo.
However, the Luanda Provincial Command of the National Police announced, days later, that access to the UCKG's temples was still prohibited until the court notified the police authorities for their lifting.
The information was transmitted, on the occasion, by the police spokesman in Luanda, Nestor Goubel, stating that the corporation began to develop a police operation "leading to guarantee compliance with the interdiction order issued by the court".
