The preliminary results of the autopsy carried out on José Eduardo dos Santos over the weekend show "heart failure" and a major lung infection, but the report delivered to the family emphasizes that it is necessary to complement this first information with more tests before a definitive conclusion, a judicial source explained to Lusa.
The preliminary result removes, at least for now, one of the questions raised by Tchizé dos Santos, who had suggested that his father could have been poisoned, and hence the need for an autopsy to be carried out to investigate this possibility.
The guarantee that José Eduardo dos Santos was not poisoned was given by the Attorney General of the Republic, who is part of the Angolan delegation that in Barcelona deals with the process of transferring the body of the former President of the Republic to Angola, to Jornal de Angola and to the TVZimbo, both public media outlets, which, however, do not quote any phrase from Hélder Pitta Grós.
A source linked to the defense of the daughter of former President Tchizé dos Santos told Lusa on Tuesday morning that the judge analyzing the case was very clear in the statement that the body will only be handed over to one of the parties after this decision, and that it is possible that the judicial authorities will want to hold further hearings with the family before deciding to whom to hand over the body.
"The court was very clear in its statement that any news that points to a decision on who will be handed over the body is premature because the judge has not yet made a decision," said the same source.
Also this Tuesday, it became known that the Government hired a law firm to support the judicial process of the widow of José Eduardo dos Santos in the request in court for the custody of the former President's body, who died on Friday, in Barcelona.
The law firm will defend the interests of Ana Paula dos Santos, her children and represent the Angolan Government in matters involving the diplomatic and institutional protection of José Eduardo dos Santos, who did not have Spanish nationality and was not a resident of Spain, he told Lusa a source close to the process.
"It was a transitory condition for the purposes of medical assistance and, therefore, the executive is now dealing with institutional and diplomatic issues", the same source told Lusa.
This is the most recent episode in the dispute involving the Government and some of the sons of José Eduardo dos Santos, regarding the delivery and transfer of the former President's remains to Luanda, to which part of the family is opposed.
It is now up to the courts to decide on the delivery and eventual transfer of the body of José Eduardo dos Santos, who has eight children, from five women, and which is being disputed within the family.
On the one hand, there are Tchizé dos Santos and his older brothers, who refuse to celebrate funerals in Angola, where they have not been for several years, since their father's successor, João Lourenço, took office in 2017, starting a fight against corruption that affected the eldest daughter, Isabel dos Santos, and the son "Zenu".
On the other hand, there is the widow and mother of three of José Eduardo dos Santos' children, Ana Paula dos Santos, who had been estranged from her husband for some years, reappearing at his side in recent months, and who was the interlocutor of the Angolan Government when he was admitted to the clinic in Barcelona, where he died on Friday.
The Government declared that it intends to hold a state funeral in Luanda, but the decision has the vehement opposition of his daughter Tchizé dos Santos, stating that this was not his father's will, and that José Eduardo dos Santos did not want to be buried in Angola while João Lourenço is in power.
The judicial decision on the delivery of the ex-President's body should be taken this week by the Spanish justice, after the result of the autopsy has already been communicated to the family.
José Eduardo dos Santos died on July 8, aged 79, in a clinic in Barcelona, Spain, after weeks of hospitalization and the Angolan government decreed seven days of national mourning.
