The head of state was speaking at the inauguration of Manuel Homem, who leaves his position as governor of Luanda to take over the Ministry of the Interior, replacing Eugénio Laborinho.
According to João Lourenço, the unprecedented appointment of a civilian as Minister of the Interior breaks a tradition.
"We understand breaking something that has been tradition, by appointing a civilian Minister of the Interior, but I would like to ask him not to be afraid of the uniform. The uniform doesn't hurt anyone, it's not in the uniform where the strength is, the strength is in the intelligence, in the determination of men", said the President.
João Lourenço called on Manuel Homem to carry out his duties "without any type of complex, without any fear", because he trusts in his abilities, believing that he will "make a good Minister of the Interior".
Speaking to the press, Manuel Homem said that he will start by making a diagnosis of the current situation of the Ministry of the Interior and will continue the various actions that are already being developed by the sector, highlighting the fight against crime, the improvement of public security in the country, to the Foreigner Migration Service and the Border Guard.
"As you know, in recent times we have seen several actions in this field, invading our borders and we will have to pay some attention to improve the performance of the bodies", he said.
Manuel Homem highlighted that he will also invest in the training and training of human resources to guarantee increasingly better staff, to meet the needs that the police and the Ministry of the Interior require.
The problem of fuel smuggling will also deserve attention, as will the illegal appropriation of various other assets in the country, "which are vandalized and stolen".
"We are going to do this work to allow us to have the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police with greater dynamics to act in this and other actions that we have at Ministry level", he added.
The President of the Republic dismissed, on Thursday, Eugénio Laborinho, whose leadership in the Interior portfolio was marked by several controversies, although he was one of the most lasting ministers in João Lourenço's executive, who appointed him in 2019 and retained him for his second term, won in the 2022 general elections.
Last week, João Lourenço dismissed the national directors of the Migration and Foreigners Service and the Criminal Investigation Service, shortly after, in his State of the Nation speech on October 15, accusing politicians and parliamentarians of being linked to crimes smuggling and vandalization of public property.
On the occasion, João Lourenço stated that "the increase in fuel smuggling, the environmental damage resulting from the illegal exploitation of strategic minerals and wood", and the necessary public reinvestment due to the vandalization of public assets, forces us to join forces in a "crusade national campaign against these types of crime".
