The body of Angola's former President José Eduardo dos Santos, who died in Spain in July, arrived in the Angolan capital Luanda on Saturday evening, casting a new element into a tense election campaign.
"The remains of José Eduardo dos Santos have arrived in Angola after a long waiting period," Marcy Lopes, a government minister, told reporters shortly after the casket, draped in the Angolan flag, was taken off the airplane.
A Spanish judge ruled on Wednesday that the death was from natural causes, ruling out foul play, and allowed the release and repatriation of his body. UNITA is stronger than ever and anger is growing at government failures to convert vast oil wealth - Angola is Africa's second-biggest oil producer - into better living conditions for all.A hearse transports the body of Angola's former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who died in Spain in July, at Luanda international airport, in Angola, August 20, 2022.
Justin Pearce, senior lecturer in history at South Africa's Stellenbosch University, said that while Lourenço was battling to retain support he did not believe there was "any deep nostalgia for dos Santos in Angolan society".
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