Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the late leader of Angola who was in charge from 1979 until 2017, was laid to rest Sunday at the historical palm lined Praca da Republica in Luanda, the Angolan capital.
Sunday would have been dos Santos’ 80th birthday.
The funeral of the late strongman comes just days after his party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), saw its worst results at the ballot box in the country’s most open elections since independence.
The MPLA has ruled Angola for almost half a century, and despite its performance in the last election, it still looks set to remain in power.
Dos Santos died in July of cardiac arrest in a Barcelona clinic.
His children and estranged wife have been embroiled since in a dispute over how and where he should be buried.
A Spanish court ordered dos Santos’ body be returned to Angola but the burial was delayed after the family requested an autopsy.
On Sunday, flags flew at half-mast around the Praca da Republica and a choir sang dirges. The founding
