Angola's former president died in Barcelona, a daughter fought to bury him in Spain, and a Spanish court sent the body to his widow in Luanda

José Eduardo dos Santos ruled Angola for 38 years. In 2017 he stepped down and handed power to João Lourenço, the successor he had picked. He moved to Spain in 2019. He suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest on 23 June 2022 and died at the Teknon Medical Centre in Barcelona on 8 July 2022, aged 79. The Angolan government and his children disagreed over when and where he would be buried. His daughter Tchizé dos Santos said her father wanted to be buried in Spain. In August 2022 a Spanish court released the body to his widow, Ana Paula de Lemos, and allowed its return to Angola. The body was flown to Luanda in the week of the general election that Lourenço was contesting. The state funeral was held in Luanda on 28 August 2022. His eldest daughter, Isabel dos Santos, faces claims over money made during his rule. On 20 December 2023 London's High Court granted the Angolan telecoms company Unitel a worldwide freezing order over up to £580 million of her assets; Unitel alleges she arranged more than £365 million in below-market loans in 2012 and 2013 to a company she controlled. She lost a Court of Appeal case over the freeze in October 2024. In January 2024 Angolan prosecutors charged her with 12 crimes, including embezzlement, money laundering and tax fraud, alleging state losses of about $219 million while she chaired Sonangol. Status: charged, not convicted. She denies wrongdoing and calls the case a political vendetta.