General João Maria Moreira de Sousa (born 1951) is a former

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, "the top magistrate of the Prosecuting Council". In a December 2007 ceremony reconfirming his post (which has been held since at least 2004Luanda Archives
(Friday, 30 April 2004)) and attended by members of the press, de Sousa was photographed being sworn into office by

José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was also the commander-in-chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and president of the People's Movement for the ...

, President, Head of Government, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Military background

General de Sousa is, along with fellow "top

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

s" Higino Carneiro,

Hélder Vieira Dias General Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Jr, known by the nickname "Kopelipa", is an Angolan general, former public official, and businessman with close ties to former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos. In 2014, his net worth was estimated at c ...

, Roberto Leal Monteiro, and

Kundi Paihama Kundi Paihama (9 December 1944 – 24 July 2020) was an Angolan politician who served as Angola's Minister of Defense from 2002 to 2010. He served subsequently as Minister for War Veterans. Paihama was the 18th candidate on the national list of ...

, one of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

leaders holding top ministerial posts for the

Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social d ...

, the

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

that has ruled Angola since it gained its independence from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in 1975.

Statements

*In 2004, de Sousa stated that Angola's National

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

should act against criminals rather than to quell dissent. *In late 2007, de Sousa expressed satisfaction that the year was drawing to and end without an excess of people held in

protective custody Protective custody (PC) is a type of imprisonment (or care) to protect a person from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many prison administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within pri ...

in Angola. He revisited this topic publicly in March 2008 when he blamed a shortage of

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

s and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s for the excess of preventive custody cases in Angola stating that the number of cases presented daily "is too high and the number of judges and attorneys existing is insufficient for us to deal with all cases in time". The Attorney General refused to reveal the number of

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

ers to whom this situation applies, but said that efforts were being made to engage more qualified magistrates with the provincial courts. He added that only through the training of more magistrates would the problem be resolved. *In a January 2008

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

with

Rádio Nacional de Angola Rádio Nacional de Angola is a national radio station in Angola. It is based in the capital of Luanda. The station broadcasts in Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, and major local languages and is operated by the Government of Angola The Cab ...

, de Sousa said the detention of

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

Fernando Lelo was justified based on "strong signs of crime against the State security". He denied that there were any "irregularities in his detention" "Angola: Republic Attorney Denies Arbitrary Detention of Journalist"
Angola Press Agency, Luanda, 7 January 2008 (allafrica.com) and said that Lelo's offenses included the incitement of

Angolan Armed Forces The Angolan Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas Angolanas) or FAA is the military of Angola. The FAA consist of the Angolan Army (), the Angolan Navy () and the National Air Force of Angola (). Reported total manpower in 2021 was about 107,000. ...

soldiers to commit crimes. *In another early 2008 interview, when speaking on the issue of whether or not

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n militant

Henry Okah Henry Okah (born 1965, Lagos State, Nigeria) is the assumed Nigerian guerrilla leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a title he denies. Overview MEND has claimed responsibility for attacks on oil companies operating ...

(also known by the alias Jomo Gbomo and believed to be a

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta) would be

extradited Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

, de Sousa said "

Terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

is an issue that worries all countries. And in due time we're going announce (our decision)". Okah was deported from Angola the following month and faces the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. *En route to attending the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

meeting of the Executive Committee of Attorneys' Association of Africa in February 2008, de Sousa addressed

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

s at the

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

to describes subjects on that meeting's agenda including

children's rights Children's rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

, and

organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

Name

General de Sousa should not be confused with João Maria de Sousa e Almeida, Baron de Agua-Izé, a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

credited with bringing the

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s of the

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...

tree to

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álva ...

in 1858.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sousa, Joao Maria de Living people MPLA politicians

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

1951 births