The Former President of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos (JES) is in Dubai from December to console his firstborn, Isabel dos Santos due to the death of her husband, Sindika Dokolo. His return to Angola and a meeting with the current President, João Lourenço, will be decisive pieces for the fate of the proceedings in which his children are accused.
José Eduardo dos Santos will travel to Angola, probably in March. The former head of state will take advantage of his stay in the country to request an audience with his successor, João Lourenço, says Jornal de Negócios. José Eduardo dos Santos is currently in Dubai, where he is assisting his daughter, Isabel dos Santos, following the death of her husband, Sindika Dokolo, in October last year.
A meeting between José Eduardo dos Santos and João Lourenço is seen as an indispensable piece in the attempt to find a solution to the legal proceedings aimed at Isabel dos Santos and José Filomeno dos Santos. As Business progressed on November 3, 2020, the trip should be interpreted as “an unmistakable sign that it recognizes the legitimacy of the current President” and allowing a new approach to cases involving the Dos Santos family.
The date of Eduardo dos Santos’ trip is not yet closed, depending on the health situation of the former Angolan leader, as well as on the unpredictability that covid-19 poses in terms of planning. However, there is an effective intention that it will materialize.
A meeting between João Lourenço and José Eduardo dos Santos will not be synonymous with automatic peace. Even because the latter’s final position will be taken in conjunction with the daughter. Isabel dos Santos, until now, has refused any attempt at understanding with the current Angolan power.
The complaint that it was a “betrayal”
A proof of this was the way he proceeded during his father’s arrival in Dubai. José Eduardo dos Santos communicated the decision to travel to the Palácio da Cidade Alta and as such the diplomatic mechanisms were activated. Albino Malungo, Angolan Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, took care of all the logistical details, but Isabel dos Santos, upon arrival in Dubai, forced Eduardo dos Santos to refuse the transport that had been provided by the diplomatic services. Before that, the businesswoman had declined the ambassador’s invitation to wait for her father’s flight in the VIP room reserved for that purpose. These two signs reflect Isabel dos Santos’ high level of animosity towards her country’s current power.
In other words, all scenarios for the outcome of this war without weapons are plausible. The most desired is a lasting armistice, although both parties can adduce arguments to reject it. João Lourenço insofar as he has the power, the MPLA and the overwhelming majority of public opinion on his side, José Eduardo dos Santos and Isabel dos Santos because they understand that the crisis will significantly deteriorate the image of the current President, and may provide an internal rebellion within the party that supports the government.
The meeting between João Lourenço and José Eduardo dos Santos will take place after Manuel Vicente, in a meeting held in December with the head of state, handed over documents that involve the former president of the Republic in Sonangol’s corruption business. João Lourenço took good note of all the information, but he will also have seen Manuel Vicente’s action as a “betrayal”, insofar as it constituted a breach of solidarity between the two former Angolan leaders. This assessment makes it possible to create points of contact between the two, making Isabel dos Santos the key to solving this equation.
