Angola: Former dictator José Eduardo dos Santos is dead

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Jose Eduardo dos Santos

Photo: imago stock&people / imago/PanoramiC

José Eduardo dos Santos died on Friday at the age of 79.

The longtime former president of Angola died in a hospital in Barcelona where he was admitted on June 23 with cardiac arrest, the Angolan government said.

José Eduardo Dos Santos ruled Angola in southwestern Africa from 1979 to 2017.

One of his five daughters, Tchizé dos Santos, requested an autopsy on the body.

In a statement published in Madrid, she said this should be done before the body was taken to Angola.

A few days ago, the ex-president's daughter reported to the Spanish police that she suspected she had attempted to kill her father.

The statement from the government in Luanda said: "It is with great pain and dismay that the Angolan government announces the death of Mr. dos Santos." guided with clarity and humanity (the destiny) of the Angolan nation".

A five-day national mourning should apply in Angola from Saturday.

A dictatorial family, many allegations of corruption

Dos Santos has been accused of large-scale embezzlement of funds to favor his family and close associates over the course of his nearly four-decade rule in Angola.

During his presidency, he placed family members in key positions in business, including banking, telecommunications, media and the oil industry.

His daughter Isabel dos Santos, the country's richest woman, is accused by the Angolan judiciary of embezzling funds while she was at the helm of state oil company Sonangol and investing much of it in Portugal.

Isabel dos Santos denies the allegations.

Research by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) dubbed “Luanda Leaks” raises the suspicion that the president’s daughter took massive advantage of her father’s corrupt system.

The businesswoman lives in London and Dubai.

The Supreme Court in Angola had sentenced Dos Santos' son José Filomeno dos Santos, also known by the nickname "Zenu", to five years in prison in 2020.

The court ruled that he embezzled millions of dollars while he was at the head of an Angolan sovereign wealth fund.

As a former president, José Eduardo dos Santos remained protected from criminal prosecution even until his death.

A civil war raged in the southwest African country from 1975 to 2002, during which around half a million people were killed.

Poverty and nepotism are still widespread in Angola today.

dop/AFP