The start of the clean-up operation did not take long. Within three months of taking control of Angola, President Joao Lourenco sacked his predecessor’s daughter as head of the state-run oil company and set about dismantling the empire built by former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
A presidential decree in the middle of this monthly swiftly ended the reign of Isabel dos Santos — one of Africa’s richest women — as boss of Sonangol, the country’s troubled economic flagship, which supplied three-quarters of its revenue.
A little over a year ago, the 44-year-old “Princess” was named by her father as head of the company, sparking an outcry among the opposition.
However, despite her standing, Lourenco dismissed her, later saying: “Sonangol is Angola’s golden goose, we are going to take care of it very carefully.”
A long-standing pillar of the regime, the new president had promised to distance himself from the Dos Santos family during his successful campaign ahead of the Aug. 23 poll.
“No one will be above the law... I will be the only president,” he said, although few took him seriously.
They were mistaken, because as soon as he took the reins of the African nation, Lourenco launched a raft of appointments.
Within a few weeks, the bosses loyal to Jose Eduardo dos Santos heading key institutions and sectors — including the central bank, oil, diamond industry and the media — were replaced by Lourenco allies.
“Joao Lourenco is setting up his team,” journalist and opponent Rafael Marques said. “What is out of the ordinary is that he is demonstrating that he is the president, not the MPLA [People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola],” the ruling party since 1975.
The police and the army did not escape the clear-out either.
Before retiring, Jose Eduardo dos Santos took care to freeze by law the hierarchy of the security forces for several years, but Lourenco replaced the chiefs of police and military intelligence anyway.
“He’s tearing up the original compromise government that he negotiated with Dos Santos around the time of his inauguration as head of state,” said Alex Vines, an analyst at the British think tank Chatham House. “He has demonstrated that the dos Santos family is no longer protected.”
The initiatives of Angola’s new boss have sent shockwaves through the MPLA, where “Comrade Number 1” Jose Eduardo dos Santos has kept a number of supporters.
His other daughter, Welwitschia, herself a member of the MPLA Central Committee, complained publicly about the treatment of the family.
“In Angola, citizens who promote the image of the motherland... are persecuted and stripped by the president,” said Welwitschia, who made her fortune as the head of a television production and advertising company.
MPLA lawmaker Joao Pinto has warned the new head of state, telling Radio Ecclesia: “We must avoid witch hunts and revenge.”
The opposition and civil society are observing the clan war with interest, but remain skeptical.
“The president wants to win the trust of global financial institutions and foreign governments by pretending that he is attacking corruption,” journalist Mussa Garcia said.
The Dos Santos family still retains control of another jewel in the crown, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, led by the former president’s son Jose Filomeno, but rumors of his resignation are already well under way, especially since he was implicated in the “Paradise Papers” offshore tax scandal.
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