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Dos Santos challenged over appointment of daughter to head state oil firm

Dos Santos challenged over appointment of daughter to head state oil firm

Angola

Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos has received a backlash from a group of Angolan lawyers who decided to legally challenge the appointment of his daughter as the head of state oil company Sonangol.

Angola president appoints daughter as state oil firm boss https://t.co/lEzPvjRem2

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“This appointment is illegal. We will request its annulment. The law is in our favour to cancel this appointment,” lawyer David Mendes said at a press conference after a meeting with twelve other lawyers on the appointment.

The protesting lawyers said they will take the matter up with three different bodies. “A document will be delivered to the head of government, that is to say to the President himself, we will file a complaint with the Attorney General of the Republic, and we will apply for an administrative act before the Supreme Court for the blockade, “ Mr. Mendes said.

The Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos appointed his daughter as the new head of the struggling state oil company Sonangol, through a presidential decree announced on Thursday.

Immediately after the announcement, Angola’s main opposition party the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) also condemned the president calling the move a demonstration of favouritism and graft by the ruling party.

The president’s daughter, Isabel dos Santos, nicknamed “Princess” is the richest woman in Africa and the eighth on the continent. Her wealth is estimated at $ 3.3 billion with a significant portion located in Portugal, according to Forbes.

The 43-year-old businesswoman, who is the president’s eldest daughter, has 25% shares in the country’s main mobile telecommunication company Unitel as well as the BIC bank.

Her appointment, according to Angola’s state radio, was for her to turn around the struggling company which is facing the brunt of the fall in global oil prices affecting its revenue.

Isabel dos Santos is accused by her critics of making a fortune as a result of her father’s position as president of Angola since 1979.

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