Angola: Trial of President dos Santos’s son begins

The trial of former president José Eduardo dos Santos’ son, José Filomeno dos Santos, began in Luanda on Monday. The son of the man who ruled Angola for 38 years stands accused of corruption charges and has plead not guilty. 

Dos Santos and his co-accused allegedly funnelled $500million out of Angola during his tenure as chairman of Angola’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. 

He was appointed head of the $5bn sovereign wealth fund in 2013, while his father was in power, but was removed in 2017. 

BBC Southern Africa correspondent, Andrew Harding, has called it “an extraordinary moment for a famously corrupt, impoverished and oil-rich country.” 

This is the first time a member of the Dos Santos family has been taken to court. In March, Jose Filomeno dos Santos was freed after spending seven months in jail for corruption allegations.  

Since Dos Santos Sr. stepped down from the presidency, the fortunes of his family have been markedly reversed.  The new president, Joao Lourenco, fired his predecessor’s daughter, Isabel dos Santos, from her position as chief executive of the state oil giant Sonango in 2017 over alleged embezzlement. She denies any wrongdoing and now lives abroad after threats were made against her life.