By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Angola’s former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Africa’s second-biggest oil producer for nearly four decades, died on Friday, the presidency said.
The 79-year-old died at the Teknon clinic in Barcelona, Spain, where he was being treated following a prolonged illness, according to the statement.
One of Africa’s longest serving leaders, dos Santos stepped down five years ago. His rule was marked by a civil war lasting nearly three decades against U.S.-backed UNITA rebels, which he won in 2002, and a subsequent oil-fuelled boom.His successor, President Joao Lourenco, declared five days of national mourning and described dos Santos as a “unique figure of the Angolan homeland.”
Despite being handpicked by dos Santos to succeed him, Lourenco swiftly moved to investigate allegations of multi-billion dollar corruption during the former president’s era.
Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa hailed the good relationship fostered by dos Santos between the two countries.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said dos Santos had helped in the fight against white minority rule under apartheid.
Ramaphosa said: “I offer, on behalf of our Government and nation, our sincerest condolences to the Republic of Angola on the passing of an outstanding revolutionary and leader of a nation.
“Pres Dos Santos’ humble beginnings, his militancy, his exile from the country of his birth and his education in the then Soviet Union resonate profoundly with the journey many South Africans in our own liberation movement experienced.”
“Indeed, José Eduardo dos Santos and the MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola) he came to lead extended their revolutionary solidarity and material and military support to our liberation movement.”
“This support provoked the apartheid regime and its allies to violate the sovereign Republic of Angola by turning Angola into a battleground for preserving the apartheid regime, added Ramaphosa.
Dos Santos’ daughter Tchizé dos Santos said in an Instagram post that “fathers never die because they are the truest love that children know in all their lives. They live forever within us”.
Her lawyer, Carmen Varela, said she has asked the clinic where he died to keep his body in Spain for a full autopsy rather than it being returned directly to Angola following fears of foul play. The clinic declined to comment.
In Friday’s statement, her lawyer said the complaint included allegations relating to “attempted murder, failure to exercise a duty of care, injury resulting from gross negligence and disclosure of secrets by people close to him”.
According to the complaint, she believes her father’s current wife, Ana Paula, and his personal physician are responsible for the deterioration in his health.
She claimed her father and his wife had been separated for some time, meaning she had no right to make decisions about his health.
Police confirmed receiving the complaint and said they had opened an inquiry.
Angolan journalist and rights activist Rafael Marques de Morais, an outspoken critic of dos Santos, wrote earlier this week on an anti-corruption website that dos Santos’ political legacy “will not be missed but it leaves suffering”.
Tributes and criticism also came from ordinary citizens. Júlia João, a 44-year old homeworker in Luanda, said dos Santos had presided well over the peaceful transition after the war, but squandered the chance to transform Angola.
With inputs from Reuters.