Luanda- The minister of Territory Administration, Marcy Lopes, said Saturday in Luanda, that with the arrival in Luanda of the corpse of the former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos, the coming days will be reserved for the tackling administrative and protocol issues related to the funeral.
The minister made the statement to the press at Luanda’s 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, following the arrival of the remains of the former Angolan statesman, who died on July 8 in Spain.
Regarding the date of the funeral, the minister, who coordinates the commission for the organization of the exequies, said the process needs to be handled with care and attention, adding that the date for the funeral will be communicated soon.
José Eduardo dos Santos died at the age of 79 in a Barcelona hospital, where he had been hospitalized since June 23 following a cardiac arrest.
Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ remains are in this moment in his official residence in the Miramar neighborhood, in Luanda.
In the next hours, the former president’s remains will be under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health until the date of the funeral to be announced by government authorities.
Outcome in Court
On August 16 the Court of Catalonia (Spain) decided to deliver the body of the Former President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, to his wife, Ana Paula dos Santos, for his burial.
The decision was made after the judge received reports from the Forensic Medical Institute and the Toxicology Laboratory.
The document says that in the resolution the judge recognizes Ana Paula dos Santos as the widow of the former Angolan Head of State.
The deliberation gave the former first lady the custody of the body of the former Head of State to proceed with the translocation process.
Ana Paula dos Santos was the interlocutor of the Angolan government when her husband was interned in a clinic in Barcelona, where he died.
During the process, the former First Lady of the Republic had the support of the Angolan government.
The legal dispute over the custody of the body involved the widow and the eight children of the former President of the Republic, especially the three eldest who were opposed to the delivery and transfer of the body of the former Head of State.
The transfer of the remains from Barcelona to the Angolan capital was accompanied by the widow of the former statesman, Ana Paula dos Santos, her children, relatives and Angolan government officials.
José Eduardo dos Santos came to office as President of the Republic in September 1979, following the death of António Agostinho Neto, Angola's first president, and was in office for 38 years, until he was succeeded by João Lourenço.
