Ex-president Dos Santos's body to arrive in Angola

Ex-president Dos Santos's body to arrive in Angola

Angola's former leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos died last month in Spain
Angola's former leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos died last month in Spain. Photo: MARCO LONGARI / AFP/File
Source: AFP

New feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block and enjoy!

The body of Angola's Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who died in Spain last month, was to arrive in Luanda Saturday, government said, ending a weeks-long feud over the repatriation of the ex-president's corpse.

A lawyer for dos Santos's widow confirmed that the remains, which have been at the centre of a family dispute, had left Barcelona and were on their way to the Angolan capital.

"On Friday, we made all the preparations, the customs papers, the embalming, we did everything and, indeed, this morning the body is flying to Angola," Josep Riba Ciurana, a lawyer for the widow, Ana Paula dos Santos, told AFP.

Dos Santos, who ruled the oil-rich African nation with an iron first from 1979 to 2017, died in Barcelona on July 8 at the age of 79 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Read also

Chad 'national dialogue' to begin after delays

Since then, the question of when and where he will be buried has pitted the Angolan government and his widow against some of his adult children.

Jose Eduardo dos Santos, here at a campaign rally  with his wife Ana Paula in 2012, ruled Angola with an iron first from 1979 to 2017
Jose Eduardo dos Santos, here at a campaign rally with his wife Ana Paula in 2012, ruled Angola with an iron first from 1979 to 2017. Photo: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP
Source: AFP

A Barcelona court this week ordered his remains be delivered to Paula and granted authorisation for "the repatriation and international transfer of (his) remains to Angola".

Dos Santos's 44-year-old daughter Tchize dos Santos filed an appeal to challenge the decision, but Riba Ciurana said a judge granted immediate execution of the ruling, allowing the body to leave Spain.

'Surprised'

"We are the first to be surprised," said Tchize's lawyer, Carmen Varela, adding they learnt about the repatriation from television and had not been "notified of anything".

Varela explained they wanted to hold the funeral in Barcelona because returning to Angola is not an option for some members of the family.

Read also

Literature world holds New York rally for Rushdie

Several of dos Santos' children have faced an array of corruption investigations in recent years.

The body was due to arrive in Luanda in the late afternoon, a government official told AFP without providing further details.

The announcement comes just a few days before Angolans are due to head to the polls in a national vote, and marks a small victory for President Joao Lourenco.

'You took me to the altar and... I will not be able to take you to your last (resting) place,' the former leader's daughter Isabel has written on social media
'You took me to the altar and... I will not be able to take you to your last (resting) place,' the former leader's daughter Isabel has written on social media. Photo: LOIC VENANCE / AFP
Source: AFP

The nearly four-decade tenure of dos Santos saw members of his family capitalise on the nation's oil riches while most Angolans remained mired in poverty.

When he stepped down in 2017, dos Santos handed over power to Lourenco, the former defence minister.

But Lourenco quickly turned on his erstwhile patron, unleashing an anti-corruption drive to recoup billions he suspected had been embezzled under dos Santos, a campaign that has targeted the former president's family.

"You took me to the altar and... I will not be able to take you to your last (resting) place," Dos Santos's eldest daughter Isabel, who has faced a slew of investigations into her multinational business dealings, wrote in an Instagram post.

Read also

Nicaraguan police remove bishop from his home: church

"They ripped you out of my arms."

New feature: check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.