Autopsy in Spain for ex-Angola leader amid foul allegations

An autopsy has been carried out in Spain on former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who died in Barcelona last week, at the request of one of his daughters who suspects foul play, her lawyers said on Monday.

The results of the autopsy are not yet available, said a spokesman for the lawyers of Tchize dos Santos.

A court in Barcelona approved the autopsy on Friday, the day of his death, a court spokeswoman said.

Dos Santos, who ruled Angola between 1979 and 2017, has lived in Barcelona since April 2019.

The 79-year-old was hospitalized and placed in intensive care after suffering a cardiac arrest on June 23.

His 44-year-old daughter – whose full name is Welwitschia dos Santos – promptly asked the hospital to hold his body “until a proper autopsy is performed”.

She said in a statement on Saturday there were “a number of indications” that her father’s death took place in “suspicious circumstances”.

Tchize has launched a court case in Spain against the widow of former Angolan President Ana Paula and his personal physician for “attempted murder”.

The complaint also includes allegations related to “breach of a duty of care, breach of gross negligence and disclosure of secrets by persons close to him,” her lawyers said in a statement on Friday.

Tchize claimed her father and his wife had been separated for some time, meaning his spouse had no right to make decisions about his health.

Police acknowledged receipt of the complaint and said they were investigating.

Tchize also argues that her father wanted to be buried privately in Spain rather than Angola, at a state funeral in the former Portuguese colony “which the current government might be favouring”.

Born in the slums of Luanda, dos Santos was one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.

Critics say he used his country’s oil wealth to enrich his family while leaving his people among the world’s poorest.

When he resigned, dos Santos handed over to former Secretary of Defense Joao Lourenco, whom he had handpicked to succeed him.

But Lourenco quickly turned on his one-time patron and launched an anti-corruption campaign to recover the billions he suspected had been embezzled under dos Santos.