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Angola's ex-president home after two years in Spain

Wednesday September 15 2021
Angola's former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

Angola's former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos. PHOTO | AFP

By ARNALDO VIEIRA

Angola former President José Eduardo dos Santos returned to Luanda on Tuesday after living in Barcelona since 2019. 

Dos Santos had initially travelled to Spain for routine medical examination.

State-owned news agency Angop confirmed that the former arrived in Luanda at 11am.

During his stay in Europe,  Dos Santos made occasional trips to Dubai to see his daughter Isabel who has been in the recent past sued in various countries including Angola and Portugal.

Dos Santos succeeded António Agostinho Neto in 1979, who ruled Angola for four years after independence from Portugal in 1975.

In 2017, President João Lourenço took over from dos Santos as Angola and ruling MPLA leader following a general election marking the end of a 38-year reign.

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Dos Santos, 79, is accused of appointing relatives and friends to top positions during his 38-year presidency of the oil-rich nation.

Critics say corruption was rife during his rule, with wealth amassing in the hands of a select few and billions of dollars allegedly embezzled from state-owned companies.

President Lourenco has promised to root out graft and restore the oil-dependent economy.

In 2017, the president sacked Isabel dos Santos from the state-owned oil firm Sonangol over mismanagement.

Meanwhile, speculations about Dos Santos family influence in Angola are increasingly emerging ahead of the general election scheduled for 2022.

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