Angolans skeptical about Isabel's bid for presidency

Angolans are skeptical about the candidacy of Isabel Dos Santos for the presidency.

In the capital Luanda, locals are uncertain about the political prowess of the eldest daughter of José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s ex-president.

Jao Lusevikueno is a political analyst. “The big reality is whether she has political popularity to be elected. But I don’t think she does.

“It’s hard to be wrong, especially with social media, where sometimes people want to take advantage of others for various reasons,” he said.

For Luanda-based resident Diabanzila Barros, “I think she is free and has the right to run for president, but it is the Angolan Constitution that allows her to do so.

“I am not sure, but if that is the case either her political party, the MPLA, presents her on a list of candidates or she has to create her own party. But the big question remains whether that party will be accepted,” Barros said.

Isabella Dos Santos, run state-owned national oil company Sonangol when her father was president of the Central African nation. She revealed her intentions to run for the country’s 2022 presidential election,

But this week, leaked documents revealed that Africa’s richest woman garnered her wealth through corrupt deals, according to New York-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Dos Santos took to Twitter to refute the claims. “My fortune is built on my character, my intelligence, education, capacity for work, perseverance”, she wrote.

AFP