Luanda – The body of the former President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, is being flown to Luanda, whereit is expected to arrive this Saturday (20).
The information was confirmed today, in a statement, by the Commission for the Organisation of the Funeral Ceremony, adding that the date and programme of the funeral will be communicated in due course.
Last Tuesday (16), the Court of Catalonia (Spain) decided the delivery of the remains of the former President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, to his wife Ana Paula dos Santos, for burial.
The decision was made after the judge received reports from the Legal Medical Institute and the Toxicology Laboratory.
The document states that in the resolution the judge recognises Ana Paula dos Santos as the widow of the former Angolan Head of State.
The deliberation empowers the former first lady to have the custody of the remains of the former Head of State and to proceed with the process of transfer.
Ana Paula dos Santos was the Angolan government's interlocutor when her husband was 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, which intends to hold a state funeral in Luanda.
Following the death of the former Head of State, the Angolan government decreed seven days of national mourning that came to an end without the presence of Mr Dos Santos remains.
The legal dispute over custody of the body involved the widow and the eight children of the former President of the Republic, mainly the three eldest ones who opposed the delivery and transfer of the body of the former Head of State to Angola.
The former President of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos, died at the age of 79 on 8 July in a hospital in Barcelona, where he had been hospitalised since 23 June after a cardiac arrest.
