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(FILES) Jose Filomeno dos Santos (L), the son of former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, appears in the high court on corruption charges in Luanda, on December 9, 2019. (Photo by Joao da Fatima / AFP)
Angolan President João Lourenço has pardoned around 50 prisoners, including the son of his predecessor, José Eduardo dos Santos, who was serving a five-year jail term for embezzlement.
A presidential decree posted on Facebook on Wednesday cited “good behaviour” and the “absence of social danger” as reasons for granting freedom to the convicts.
José Eduardo dos Santos, who died in 2022, ruled energy-rich Angola for 38 years until 2017. His son, José Filomeno dos Santos, 46, had been convicted of crimes including embezzlement and influence trafficking.
He was jailed for fraud in 2020 after $500 million was transferred from the National Bank of Angola to an account in the UK. Three others, including the former governor of Angola’s national bank, were also sentenced.
The conviction marked Angola’s first major corruption case since the transfer of power.
The pardon was linked to the upcoming 50th anniversary of Angola’s independence from Portugal, the decree said, adding that it aimed to promote a “climate of harmony, leniency, indulgence, concord, and fraternity.”
In November, the UK government sanctioned Angola’s Isabel dos Santos, a billionaire businesswoman and daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos, as part of a new anti-corruption initiative.
According to the UK government, Isabel dos Santos “systematically abused her positions at state-run companies to embezzle at least £350 million ($443 million), depriving Angola of resources and funding for much-needed development.”
Considered Africa’s richest woman, she is currently wanted by Angolan authorities investigating alleged illegalities in her management of the national oil company Sonangol between 2016 and 2017.
The Dos Santos family claims they are being subjected to a political witch hunt.
AFP
