Former Angolan president at home after two years in Spain

Controversial ex-Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos arrived in the southern African country from Spain on Tuesday, the first time he has returned home since his retirement, the agency said. state press.

Dos Santos left the country in 2019 after handing over the reins the previous year to President Joao Lourenço, who has since targeted the former first family in an anti-transplant investigation.

He landed in the Angolan capital Luanda on Tuesday morning after spending two years in Barcelona, ​​Angop reported.

The length of his stay was not immediately clear.

Dos Santos, 79, is accused of appointing relatives and friends to senior positions during his 38 years as president of the oil-rich nation.

Critics say corruption was rampant during his reign, with wealth piling up in the hands of the privileged few and billions of dollars allegedly embezzled from state-owned enterprises.

President Joao Lourenço, who took office in 2018, has pledged to eliminate corruption and restore the oil-dependent economy.

He launched an anti-corruption campaign against the old regime which targeted some of dos Santos’ children.

In 2019, prosecutors froze the business assets of dos Santos billionaire daughter Isabel dos Santos, who was appointed president of state-owned oil company Sonangol during her father’s reign.

Retired from her post shortly after Lourenço’s intervention, Isabel is under investigation for allegedly embezzling state funds in offshore assets – charges she vehemently denies.

His half-brother Jose Filomeno dos Santos was sentenced to five years in prison in August last year for embezzling oil revenues from the Angolan sovereign wealth fund, which he oversaw from 2013 to 2018.

Dos Santos is under presidential immunity until 2022, five years after the end of his term.

Angolans will go to the polls next year for presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

Lourenço is widely expected to run for a second term.

He fell behind on his promise to restore the economy and angered the opposition for making “unfair” amendments to the electoral law this month.