Government suspends Universal Church of the Kingdom of God for 60 days after 16 deaths at Luanda, Angola, event

The Angolan government has suspended the activities of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) and several other evangelical churches for 60 days after deaths at a New Year’s Eve gathering. One report describes the measure as a ban, while the body of that report describes it as a suspension.

The gathering took place on December 31 at the Citadel stadium in Luanda, which one report describes as a prayer vigil organized by the church. Both reports say 16 people died. They differ on the number of injured: one puts it at 120 and the other at approximately 100. One report says that 152,000 people were drawn to a stadium with a capacity of 30,000, a figure the other report does not give.

A government commission of inquiry concluded that the church had failed to ensure proper security and had used misleading publicity to attract attendees. One report says the commission called the event misleading advertising. The government also commissioned the Attorney General’s Office to investigate the incident, which left people injured. Report 2 says the outcome of the preliminary inquiry remains pending.

The Angolan executive ordered IURD to suspend its activities for 60 days. The measure was extended to six other evangelical churches, three of them Brazilian, including the World Church of the Power of God. According to one report, the government said these churches apply the same practices as IURD and operate in the country without a license. The second report says the six churches were affected because their practices are not recognized by the government.

The reports also differ on the church’s size in Angola. One says IURD has more than 500,000 faithful, equal to 2.7 percent of the population. The other says it has about 400,000 followers and 230 temples in the country.

According to the second report, the church initially planned a press conference but later remained silent. The reports do not describe any other public response from the church.