Ver Angola

Politics Death of José Eduardo dos Santos

First hours of JES's wake marked by few people

The first hours of the wake of the body of ex-president José Eduardo dos Santos, at his official residence, in Luanda, were marked by the presence of a few anonymous citizens near the place.

: Lusa
Lusa  

The ex-president's body was prepared in the morning for the next few days of wake, so that people can "make the death", as it is called in Angolan tradition.

The remains will then be transported to the mausoleum that honors the country's first President, Agostinho Neto, on the 27th and the following day there will be a funeral ceremony, on which José Eduardo dos Santos would have turned 80.

The date of the ceremonies should coincide with the announcement of the first results of the general elections, which will take place on the 24th.

Next to his residence, in the Miramar area, a metal detector was placed and there are several state officials, including security forces and elements of the State protocol.

But not many anonymous citizens were seen visiting the site. During the "days of death", Angolan tradition requires that the family has the doors of the house open to everyone, with food and drink for those who pay tribute to the deceased.

On Saturday night, family members and dozens of people gathered to watch over José Eduardo dos Santos, this time with a body, in a ceremony marked not only by the presence of the regime, but also by the absence of the former president's daughters.

The wake will take place at the official residence of the former head of state, a huge mansion located in Miramar, an upscale neighborhood in the city of Luanda, in a space decorated for this purpose, where Canon Apolónio Graciano celebrated a funeral ceremony, during which he asked for "eternal rest " for José Eduardo dos Santos, whose body was disputed in court by two wings of the family.

Even before the arrival of the urn, some onlookers were already gathering near the famous residence in the hope of saying goodbye to the man who ruled Angola for 38 years.

Inside, dressed in black, several members of the executive and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) came to pay their last respects to José Eduardo dos Santos, president emeritus of the party, and to offer their condolences to his widow, Ana Paula. dos Santos, and her three children, as well as a restricted family nucleus.

Outside, "Dos Santos, friend" was shouted, as the people lined up in a line so that they too could enter the mansion that had always been closed to them and pay tribute to the former head of state.

Tiago Cristóvão, association leader, was one of them.

"We understood that we had to come here and accompany comrade president, we left the airport for here", he told Lusa, invoking "solidarity with the family" for the decision to attend the wake.

But not all the family received solidarity today.

The five eldest children of José Eduardo dos Santos – including daughters Isabel and Tchizé dos Santos – said they did not know that their father's body had already been handed over to the widow and are considering filing a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.

On Sunday, through social networks, they expressed their regret at not being able to say goodbye to their father in the capital, where they have hardly been going since the successor of José Eduardo dos Santos, João Lourenço, took power in 2017, and that, within the scope of the fight against corruption that he raised as the banner of his mandate, he undertook a fight that affected part of the dos Santos family and some of his closest collaborators.

Isabel dos Santos is in the grips of Angolan justice and Tchizé dos Santos, who followed her father in his political career and was a MPLA deputy, says he fears for his life if he returns to Angola. The daughters fought in Spanish justice against the delivery of the body to Ana Paula dos Santos.

But Filomeno dos Santos, a son who lives in Luanda, where he is awaiting an appeal against a court decision that sentenced him to five years in prison, also did not participate in the wake organized by the Government, which wants to hold a state funeral in the coming days and supported the claims. of the widow against the will of the older children.

Tiago Cristóvão expressed the wish that the government and family find a way to calm the situation: "We ask comrade President João Lourenço to appeal again for the children to be here and to accompany their father to his last address", he told Lusa.

Waiting in line to "pay tribute to comrade José Eduardo dos Santos, president of all Angolans", Kimuanga Bombo said he was "heartbroken" and stressed that the arrival of the body is "something very remarkable".

"Today is the day we've all been waiting for, it's the day we've all wanted," he proclaimed.

Asked about the absence of the older children, he understood that "it is understandable".

"These are things that only those who live in the skin can feel, I think that today or tomorrow, seeing this human frame, they will also feel and will be present", believes Kimuanga Bombo.

And are they able to come without being arrested? "There are conditions, yes sir, comrade João Lourenço is a father, and a humanist and knows the pain that his children are feeling, there will be nothing wrong with people who want to come", he confides.

The arrival of the remains in Luanda coincided with the last act of the MPLA campaign in Luanda, which ended in a triumphant tone, in the same place where João Lourenço started his race in the hunt for the vote, almost a month ago.

However, and despite the fact that the body's arrival in Luanda was known before João Lourenço - who is re-candidate for a new term in the elections on the 24th - gave a speech, he did not, unlike on other occasions, make any mention of his predecessor.

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