Members of the Angolan government and dozens of Angolan and international journalists were waiting this Saturday afternoon at 4 de Fevereiro International Airport for the arrival of the body of former President José Eduardo dos Santos.
Among the individuals there are several ministers of the Angolan government gathered in the protocol room, including the ministers of transport, defense, public social affairs, social communications, territorial administration, Marcy Lopez, who is also the voice of the Funeral and Funeral Commission.
The flight to the Angolan capital from Barcelona, Spain is scheduled to arrive shortly after 19:00 local time (same time in Lisbon).
This morning, the Angolan government announced that “the remains of the former President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, who died on July 8 in Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain” will arrive in the Angolan capital this afternoon.
The note issued by the Funeral Commission also states that “the date and program of the funeral will be communicated in due course.”
This afternoon, Rui Falcao, spokesman for the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, acknowledged that the funeral should take place in Luanda on August 28, which coincides with his birthday.
José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola from 1979 to 2017, died on July 8 at the age of 79 in Barcelona, Spain, where he had spent most of his time for the past five years.
Two factions of the dos Santos family disputed in the Family Court of the Civil Court of Catalonia who would keep the body of José Eduardo dos Santos.
On the one hand, Chise dos Santos and his older brothers, who were against the transfer of the remains of the former first lady and were opposed to holding a state funeral ahead of the August 24 elections, in order to avoid political exploitation.
On the other hand, the widow Ana Paula dos Santos and her three children together with José Eduardo dos Santos, who also claimed the body and wanted it to be buried in Angola in the near future.
On Wednesday, the court decided to attribute the body to the ex-wife and authorized the transfer to Angola after it finally concluded that José Eduardo dos Santos died of natural causes.
The handover of the body of the former Angolan head of state comes as the current president, João Lourenço, who replaced Jose Eduardo dos Santos in 2017, is seeking re-election.
More than 14 million Angolans, including those living abroad, are eligible to vote on 24 August in the fifth election in Angola’s history.
The 220 members of the National Assembly of Angola are elected by two methods: 130 members are proportional to the so-called national constituency, and the remaining 90 seats are reserved for each of the 18 provinces of Angola using the d’Hondt method and in which each elects five parliamentarians.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
