Rejecting the designation of the Brazilian wing, the Angolan bishop who leads the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) Angola, replacing the Brazilian Honorilton Gonçalves - after the controversies that involved this religious leader, who was even accused in a process - made a history of the conflicts that started in November 2019 and underlined that there are currently no legal obstacles to the reopening of UCKG temples.
In November 2019, UCKG dissidents in Angola accused the Brazilian leadership of financial crimes, racism, discrimination and abuse of authority, among others, and formed a reformist wing, headed by Valente Bizerra Luís, meanwhile recognized by the Angolan Government as a legitimate representative of the religious movement founded by Edir Macedo.
Subsequently, four members of the leadership of the UCKG were accused, who were acquitted in March 2022 of most of the charges, except for former leader Honorilton Gonçalves, sentenced to three years in prison, with a suspended sentence, for the crime of physical violence. and psychological.
The sentence, which became final on December 21, 2022, also determined the release of the accounts and restitution of the assets listed in the process, namely the temples that had been seized by the Attorney General of the Republic of Angola and sealed by legal determination.
Alberto Segunda explained that the places of worship have not yet opened because they are waiting for an "administrative procedure" and want "a public statement" on these issues by the State.
"We understand that all temples should already be open and we believe that they will open, gradually, even on account of the critical state of the buildings", said the UCKG bishop, since some of these, over the three years, were degraded due to rain and lack of maintenance.
He also stressed that, in the case of cathedrals that are in the hands of the reformist wing, the bodies of law have mechanisms to remedy this situation: "We are not the ones who are going to take our brothers there, they will certainly be notified and within the judicial and administrative procedures these temples will also be returned".
Alberto Segunda stressed that the UCKG is autonomous in Angola and run 100 percent by Angolans, with around one hundred pastors, all of Angolan nationality, rejecting the idea of it being a "Brazilian wing".
He also stated that since the beginning of the conflict, the founding leader's decision was to give autonomy to the church and that he had withdrawn from UCKG affairs in Angola.
"That doesn't stop me from going to see a sermon by my leader, but we don't have administrative-financial dependency, he is our founder and our spiritual leader", stated Alberto Segunda.
The bishop criticized the "many false news" against the church whose objective is to tarnish the name of the entities and challenged the lawyer David Mendes (who represented the dissident branch in the process brought against the leaders of the UCKG) to prove "where there is corruption", stressing that the church "is against these practices" and announcing that it will file a criminal complaint against the lawyer and TV commentator Zimbo.
He also complained that these accusations help propagate violence, as happened recently in Benguela, when members of the other wing "went out into the street to cause confusion", proving to be in favor of the police restoring order and tranquility.
The bishop stressed that he has been appealing to the brothers "to return to the mother church" and that the existence of another wing is a "non-issue", adding that there is no problem with the faithful.
Alberto Segunda said that there have been several "productive" meetings with leaders of the reformist wing in religious and institutional forums for conflict mediation, with "serene" conversations.
The official closed the press conference by highlighting that the UCKG already has a registration, a name and a brand and that "if there are things to correct, that is what must be done, instead of creating situations that divide the faithful".
