Angola
confirmed for the first time on Monday that 74-year-old President Jose Eduardo
dos Santos, its leader of the last 38 years, was in Spain for medical reasons.
Speaking on
French radio station RFI, foreign minister Georges Chikoti admitted that dos
Santos had been unwell but played down concerns about his health and refused to
confirm local private media reports of a stroke.
"You
know that there are moments in everyone's lives when we don't feel well. But he
is fine. He is in Spain but when he is better he will return," Chikoti
said.
"President
Dos Santos has regular checkups in Spain so it is perfectly normal for him to
be there."
Dos Santos,
a Soviet-trained oil engineer and veteran of the guerrilla war against
Portuguese rule, has presided over an economic boom in Africa's second-biggest
oil producer since the end of a long civil war in 2002.
He left
Angola at the start of May for what was officially billed as a private, two-week
overseas visit. His failure to return fueled speculation about his health,
including a report on an Angola-related Facebook page that he had died.
Before
Chikoti, state media and officials had refused to comment, a common response in
one of Africa's most secretive and repressive states. Dos Santos's daughter
Isabel denied the report of his death via Instagram but gave no more
information.
Angola is
due to hold a general election on Aug. 23 that is likely to see dos Santos
replaced as state president by defense minister Joao Lorenco, 63.
However, dos
Santos will remain leader of the ruling MPLA party, a position that many
Angolans believe will allow him to exert considerable political influence
behind the scenes.
REUTERS
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