Angola Denies President Cancer Report

Angola's government denied Friday a report that long-time President Jose Eduardo dos Santos is undergoing cancer treatment in Barcelona.

"President Dos Santos is in good health. He is on a private holiday visit to Spain," Foreign Minister Georges Chikoti told journalists in Luanda.

Portuguese state television RTP reported Thursday that an oncology clinic in the Spanish city has been treating the 71-year-old.

Dos Santos has governed the southern African nation for 34 years since independence.

He left for Spain on November 9, and also visited the country between May 2 and 12 this year.

Speculation over the ageing leader's health has increased in recent years, much like with his regional neighbor Robert Mugabe from Zimbabwe.

Mugabe, 89, regularly travels to Asia where he is believed to be undergoing treatment.

According to a U.S. diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks, Mugabe, who is Africa's oldest president, suffers from prostate cancer.

Angola is Africa's second oil producer after Nigeria. It is not yet clear who would succeed Dos Santos when he leaves power.

https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/107827