The Angolan President, João Lourenço, today dismissed the Minister of Interior, Eugénio Laborinho, appointing the current Governor of Luanda, Manuel Homem, to replace him.
To succeed Manuel Homem, the Governor of Benguela, Luís Nunes, has been appointed.
Along with Eugénio Laborinho, his Secretary of State for the Interior, José Paulino Cunha da Silva, and the Secretary of State for Technical Assurance, Carlos Armando Albino, are also leaving.
Eugénio Laborinho’s tenure at the Ministry of Interior was marked by various controversies, such as the phrase “the police are not here to distribute chocolates and sweets,” which was used regarding police action against demonstrators in 2020, and by suspicions raised by the Angolan whistleblower “Man Gena,” who was extradited from Mozambique, where he had taken refuge after allegedly receiving death threats for exposing, via social media, the connections of high-ranking police officers to drug trafficking.
Even so, Eugénio Laborinho remained one of the longest-serving ministers in João Lourenço’s administration, having been appointed in 2019 and retained for the second term, secured in the 2022 general elections.
Lusa, 31/10/2024
