Africa-Press – Namibia. JOSE Eduardo Dos Santos, the former president of Angola who ruled Namibia’s northern neighbour from 1979 to 2017, has died.
The Angolan consulate at Oshakati confirmed the sad news and said that its flag will start flying at half-mast from Monday.
According to an announcement by the Angolan executive branch, Dos Santos died in a private hospital in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday.
Dos Santos ascended to power after the death in Moscow in September 1979 of the first president of Angola, Antonio Agostinho Neto.
From Neto he inherited the saying: “in Namibia, in Zimbabwe and in South Africa is the continuation of our struggle” and he kept to it steadfastly until Zimbabwe and Namibia attained their independence in 1980 and 1990 respectively, and apartheid was dismantled in South Africa in 1994.
The Angolan government described Dos Santos as a “statesman of a great historic dimension” and presented to the bereaved family its most profound condolences and appealed for serenity during the time of mourning.
Dos Santos’ last days were marked by family squabbling after his wife, Ana Paula dos Santos who deserted him four years ago, suddenly turned up in Barcelona as Dos Santos’ health deteriorated.
One of Dos Santos daughters obtained a court interdict barring Ana Paula from coming anywhere closer to the hospital where her father was in an intensive care unit.
A criminal case was also registered with the Spanish police accusing Ana Paula and Dos Santos private doctor of attempted murder.
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