In a statement on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of the former President and chairman emeritus of the party, who led the destinies of Angola for 38 years, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), paid tribute to the former head of state "for everything he did for the aggrandizement of the Party and the Nation".
"A year later, Angola and Angolans are still resigned to the physical disappearance of one of their best sons, whose unconditional dedication to the people's cause and love for the country raised him to the category of being one of the universally referenced individualities, holder of irrefutable indices of verticality and human dimension", says the statement.
José Eduardo dos Santos died in Spain on July 8, 2022, aged 79, with the funeral celebrated in Luanda 20 days later after a dispute over custody of the remains between some of his eldest children, who live outside Angola and face the Angolan justice, and the widow and younger children, supported by the Angolan State.
José Eduardo dos Santos lived the last years of his life in Barcelona, after the rise to power of his successor, João Lourenço, and the Angolan courts advanced with cases against some of the closest collaborators and family members of the former head of state, including the children Isabel dos Santos and José Filomeno dos Santos.
The former president interrupted his self-exile only once, returning to Luanda in September 2021, for a short stay, without making statements to the press or clarifying the reason for the trip.
The Political Bureau praised "the valiant nationalist and patriotic commitment" of José Eduardo dos Santos "which allowed to keep the MPLA on track with the ideals of the manifesto of its constitution, despite the metamorphoses imposed by social dynamics in the local and international context".
Lastly, the MPLA body, the party in power in Angola since 1975, appealed to Angolans to transform this date "into a day of reflection around the desired objectives for the pursuit of the well-being of the Angolan people", underlining that "the most important thing is to solve the problems of the people".
