"The Secretary of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the MPLA [Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola] learned, with deep dismay, of the death of the nationalist Carlos Pestana Heineken "Katiana", which took place in Paris, on April 12, 2022, by illness, at the age of 95", says the ruling party, in a note dated Friday.
In the statement, the political force recalls the retired general of the Angolan Armed Forces and a doctor by profession as "a prominent Angolan guerrilla of the Eastern Front of the MPLA", recalling "his recognized commitment to the national liberation struggle".
"He meritoriously achieved the military rank of general, as well as the appointment to the post of deputy minister of National Defence, a role he performed with an exemplary patriotic sense," the statement continued.
According to the note, Carlos Pestana Heineken "was also noted as a founding member of the Angolan Volunteer Assistance Corps (CVAAR), an institution created on August 21, 1961, dedicated to logistical support for the armed struggle for national liberation in of Angola and Angolan refugees".
General "Katiana" was also a member of the Center for Angolan Studies, an institution he joined in 1964.
