The eldest sons of former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos, some of whom are in the crosshairs of justice, defend a general amnesty law and the “end of judicial and institutional processes against many Angolans”, invoking “the legacy of peace and national reconciliation” of the father.
“On Friday, July 8, 2022, our father’s heart stopped beating.” Thus begins a message broadcast this Tuesday by the Isabel dos Santos advisory service to the Lusa agency and to which The Observer also had access. The text is signed by Isabel, José Filomeno (Zénu) Welwitschea (Tchizé) Joess, José Eduardo Paulino (Coréon Du) who, after thanking them for the expressions of affection and sorrow they have received from all over the world and from Angola in particular, explain who have the “desire to contribute to everyone’s recovery of reason, serenity and consensus”. They then set out their position on holding a national funeral for the father, proposing that it be held only after the elections, and then defending that “The time has come to apologize” and put an end to legal proceedings.
Older children of José Eduardo dos Santos accept national funeral, but only after elections
Problem: After the Observer wrote that Tchizé seemed to have backed down on his positions on the funeral and amnesty, José Eduardo dos Santos’s second daughter told Lusa that she had not signed any message and that she distanced herself from him, even doubting of its authenticity.
Tchizé says that he has not signed or is aware of the brothers’ letter and is against amnesties
Some of the children of José Eduardo dos Santos, namely the eldest, the businesswoman Isabel dos Santos and her brother José Filomeno dos Santos “Zénu”, as well as close collaborators of the former president, such as generals “Dino” and “Kopelipa”, they face cases in Angolan courtswhich, in the opinion of some analysts, is seen as selective justice.
In the message released this Tuesday, the children say that “everyone should be invited to actively participate and give their best for the construction of their country, Angola”.
President João Lourenço, who received power from Eduardo dos Santos and took office in September 2017, chose the fight against corruption as the main banner of his mandate.
At an early stage, in a kind of “grace period”, he published the Capital Repatriation Law, where those suspected of having used public funds in favor of private companies were allowed to enter into an agreement with the government, returning funds, under anonymity, and being free of lawsuits.
According to an Angolan justice source, none of the children of José Eduardo dos Santos used this six-month period to regularize their situation, even going so far as Tchizé dos Santos to challenge his sister Isabel so that she would later return 75 million to Angola.
Leak from Luanda. Sister of Isabel dos Santos challenges businesswoman to return 75 million to Angola
João Lourenço has denied the selectivity of the Angolan courts, saying that the criterion is whether or not crimes were committed and that he will continue to try to recover the state assets that have been diverted.
Fight against corruption: the flag of João Lourenço that has become a double-edged sword
In the same published text, the children point out that José Eduardo dos Santos voluntarily retired from public affairsimplementing the “mechanisms for a democratic and peaceful leadership change”.
However, they write, “instead of a peaceful and deserved reform, he silently faced attacks aimed at destroying his image and his political and social work,” an injustice that “led to the division of society and the weakening of the country.”
To restore national unity and harmony, the time has come to apologize and repair the damage done to the tireless Architect of Peace. [José Eduardo dos Santos]”, suggest the five signatories of the letter, to which Lusa had access.
They affirm, therefore, that the consolidation of the political legacy of what they call the “Father of the Nation” requires the adoption of a general amnesty law and the end of judicial and institutional processes against many Angolans.
And they call to respect the mourning and promise to collaborate in the realization of a national funeral after the elections, although Tchizé has always he opposed the body of José Eduardo dos Santos being transferred to Angola while João Lourenço was in power.
Isabel dos Santos is currently facing civil and criminal proceedings in Angola where, in December 2019, the Provincial Court of Luanda ordered the preventive seizure of the bank accounts of her, her husband, the Congolese Sindika Dokolo (although he is deceased), and the Portuguese Mário da Silva, and several companies in which he has a shareholding, for alleged operations that have harmed the Angolan State in amounts greater than five billion dollars (4.87 billion euros).
Angolan court seizes accounts and companies of Isabel dos Santos and arrests José Eduardo dos Santos for favoring his daughter
The businesswoman has lived outside Angola for several years, as has her sister Tchizé, former deputy of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA, in power) and owner of several businesses in Luanda, whose mandate was suspended in 2019, due to a prolonged and repeated absences from plenary sessionswhich he justified with the fact that he was the victim of persecution and death threats.
Who is Tchizé dos Santos, “the bulldozer” who attacks João Lourenço (and almost everyone)
“Zénu”, former president of the Sovereign Fund of Angola, awaits the decision on the appeal he filed to get rid of the five-year prison sentence to which he was sentenced, in 2020, for fraud and fraud, embezzlement and drug trafficking. influences, within the framework of the case known as “500 million dollars”.
“Zenú”, son of José Eduardo dos Santos, sentenced to five years in prison in the “500 million” case
More recently, on the same day of the death of José Eduardo dos Santos, on July 8, in a Barcelona clinic, Generals “Dino” and “Kopelipa” were notified, accused of various crimes, including embezzlement. , criminal association and money laundering. , in a process that involves several companies, including the oil company Sonangol.
Generals of José Eduardo dos Santos accused of various crimes. They were notified the day of his death.
Lusa, for his part, revealed that on his last visit to Angola, the former Angolan President asked the Public Ministry to be heard in the context of this process, without receiving a response from the authorities.
Source: Observadora
