Angola Delays Judge Exams 5 Hours for Adventists

JUSTICE · ANGOLA

Angola’s National Institute of Judicial Studies (INEJ) has moved Saturday entrance tests for future judges and prosecutors to 18:00. The change follows a refusal by more than 500 Seventh-day Adventist candidates to sit exams during their weekly day of rest.

The Angola magistrate exams decide who trains for the bench and the prosecution service in one of Africa’s main oil producers. For foreign investors, the episode is a small test of how Angolan institutions respond when a rights claim reaches a judge.

The Luanda newspaper Novo Jornal reported the decision on Monday 12 October, saying the institute sought a balance between the exams and the believers’ convictions. The written tests had been set for 13:00 and will now start at 18:00 on Saturday, the paper said.

How the Saturday Dispute Began

INEJ is the state institute that trains Angola’s judges and prosecutors, and it is running the entrance competition for its 10th regular course. The competition, set up under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, has been open since June, according to Novo Jornal.

After the lists of admitted candidates were published, INEJ scheduled the tests in stages on Saturdays, starting with a first group on Saturday 10 October. Adventist candidates then wrote to the institute asking it to protect believers whose faith forbids Saturday exams.

Their letter, quoted by Novo Jornal, called the Sabbath “the perpetual sign of God’s eternal covenant with his people”. The candidates also said they had registered believing that the entrance exams would not take place on Saturdays.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant denomination that keeps the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as holy. Its world body, the General Conference, gives its address as Silver Spring, Maryland, in the United States.

INEJ first kept the Saturday dates in a written reply, according to Novo Jornal, and the candidates turned to the courts. They filed for an injunction at the Tribunal da Relação de Luanda, the capital’s appeal court, on Wednesday 7 October.

Francisco Muteka, one of the candidates’ lawyers, told Novo Jornal that Saturday tests were not in the competition’s original programme. He said his clients would not have applied had the rules said so, and called the situation a breach of rule-of-law principles.

The Angolan online outlet Imparcial Press reported that INEJ had justified Saturdays by a lack of venues large enough for more than 4,000 candidates. The evening slot keeps those Saturday venues while moving the start of the written tests five hours later.

What the Exams Decide

The competition offers 300 training places: 130 for judges, 130 for the Ministério Público, or public prosecution service, and 40 for military justice. With more than 4,000 people registered, there are more than 13 candidates for every place on the course.

Imparcial Press, citing earlier information, put the registration fee at 118,000 kwanzas (about US$129) per candidate. That conversion uses the Banco Nacional de Angola reference rate of 913 kwanzas per dollar on Monday 12 October.

The first group sat its written tests on Saturday 10 October, Novo Jornal reported. The paper did not say whether that session already used the evening slot or how many Adventists were in it.

The same session now faces a separate challenge over how it was run. Imparcial Press reported a petition to President João Lourenço and the two councils that govern judges and prosecutors, alleging disorganisation, delays and use of ChatGPT during the tests.

The petitioners ask for an investigation and for the tests to be annulled if fraud is confirmed. These are allegations that have not been independently confirmed, and no response from INEJ has been reported.

The same petition argues that court and prosecution staff should get priority access to the magistracy because of their experience. That is a policy demand rather than a claim of wrongdoing, and it would require a change to the entry model.

What It Means for US Readers

For American readers, the dispute involves a church whose world body is based in Maryland and whose members include hundreds of these Angolan candidates. How a state exam treats a religious minority is a modest but visible signal on freedom of religion in Angola.

The bigger interest lies in who will sit on Angolan benches in the coming years. Foreign investors in oil, mining and transport rely on courts that decide contract and tax disputes predictably.

A competition marked by fairness complaints would make that pipeline harder to trust, while a quick and open fix would help. The evening compromise is a small sign of flexibility, though the cheating allegations remain unanswered in public.

The exam dispute comes as Angola prepares for its 2027 general election, a context set out in Angolans Abroad to Update Voter Data From January. Price pressure is easing at the same time, as shown in Angola Inflation Slows to 8.43% in September.

What Is Not Known

It is not known whether the Adventist candidates will withdraw their injunction now that the start time has changed. No ruling by the Tribunal da Relação de Luanda has been reported.

Novo Jornal did not specify which Saturday sessions or candidate groups the 18:00 start covers. No public statement from INEJ explaining the decision could be found on its own channels.

The petition alleging ChatGPT use has not been answered publicly by INEJ or the magistrates’ councils. The dates for results and the number of candidates who have sat the Angola magistrate exams so far are also unclear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why were the Angola magistrate exams moved to the evening?

More than 500 Seventh-day Adventist candidates refused to sit tests on Saturday, their day of rest, and asked Luanda’s appeal court to suspend them. INEJ then moved the written tests from 13:00 to 18:00, Novo Jornal reported on 12 October.

What is INEJ?

The National Institute of Judicial Studies is the Angolan state institute that trains new judges and prosecutors. It is running the entrance competition for its 10th regular course.

How many places are on offer?

There are 300 places: 130 for judges, 130 for prosecutors and 40 for military justice. More than 4,000 candidates are registered.

Has the court ruled on the injunction?

No ruling has been reported. The candidates filed the injunction at the Tribunal da Relação de Luanda on Wednesday 7 October.

Are there other complaints about the exams?

A petition reported by Imparcial Press alleges disorganisation, delays and use of ChatGPT during the 10 October tests. The claims have not been independently confirmed, and INEJ has not publicly responded.

Sources: Novo Jornal, INEJ moves magistrate tests to Saturday night (12 October 2026) · Novo Jornal, Adventist candidates go to court (9 October 2026) · Imparcial Press, magistracy competition contested (11 October 2026) · Banco Nacional de Angola, USD reference rate (12 October 2026) · Seventh-day Adventist Church, who we are

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief