Africa-Press – Angola. The Ombudsman, Florbela Rocha Araújo, began, this Wednesday, a four-day visit to the province of Benguela, in fulfillment of the mission of ensuring respect, promotion and defense of citizens’ rights by the competent authorities.
The Ombudsman is, under the terms of the Constitution, an independent public entity, designated by the National Assembly, whose main function is to defend the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens.
The Ombudsman is responsible for ensuring, through informal means (no stamped paper or a lawyer required), the justice and legality of the Public Administration.
Meanwhile, Florbela Rocha Araújo’s visit comes at a time when the Ombudsman’s Office in the province of Benguela responded to 154 complaints from citizens last year, with the most targeted entities being the district courts and penitentiary services.
It is within this context that the Ombudsman’s agenda includes, for Thursday, a visit to verify the prison situation of inmates at the Cavaco Prison, in Benguela.
Complaints from inmates due to slow processes, requests for parole and, possibly, cases of excessive pre-trial detention, should receive the attention of the Ombudsman during her visit to the Cavaco prison unit.
Therefore, Florbela Rocha Araújo must then hold separate meetings with the presiding judge of the Benguela District Court, with the coordinating prosecutor of the Central Judicial Region and with the deputy chief prosecutor of the province of Benguela.
On Friday, the Ombudsman will give a lecture on the theme “The mandate and function of the Ombudsman and the duty of cooperation with the central and local administration bodies of the State”, aimed at judicial magistrates and the Public Ministry , provincial directors, traditional authorities, teachers and students.
In addition to hearings for citizens with concerns regarding the defense of their fundamental rights and freedoms, the program also includes visits to a hospital unit in the municipality of Catumbela and the municipal command of the National Police and Criminal Investigation Service (SIC), in Lobito. The program ends on Saturday morning, with a visit to the new facilities of the Provincial Ombudsman Service and the Benguela General Hospital, the main health unit in the region, with a capacity for 670 beds and an average care of 400 patients/day.
The return to Luanda of the Ombudsman, Florbela Rocha Araújo, and her delegation is scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
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