The body of José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola from 1979 to 2017, is already on its way to Luanda, Angola, and is expected to arrive this Saturday afternoon, the country's government said in a statement.

"The Angolan government makes public that the mortal remains of the former President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, who died last July 8 in Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain, will arrive in Luanda this Saturday afternoon," says the document, which also states that "the date and program of the funeral will be communicated in due course.

According to SIC Newsthe funeral may take place on August 29, Monday, four days after the elections in Angola. Until now, the date and place of the funeral of the historic leader of the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) was still undecided, due to the disagreement between his widow Ana Paula dos Santos and their three children in common with the politician - who argue that the funeral ceremonies should take place in Luanda - and Tchizé and older brothers - who wanted the body to be buried in Barcelona, Spain.

On Friday, the court in Barcelona accepted, according to CNN Portugal, the appeal by José Eduardo dos Santos' daughter Tchizé and decided to suspend the delivery of the remains of the former president of Angola to his ex-wife.

Recall that Tchizé dos Santos filed an appeal on Thursday against the court decision that handed over his father's body to his ex-wife by arguing that the case is civil and not criminal, and it is uncertain whether any of the interested parties ever submitted written submissions.

"The current lawsuit is not, and cannot be, the appropriate venue for deciding the fate of Mr. dos Santos' remains; rather, civil law is the appropriate one and should be used to determine who has standing to receive the deceased's remains and to decide on the burial site," he explained.

José Eduardo dos Santos died, aged 79, on July 8, in Barcelona, where he had spent much of the last five years. (Notícias ao Minuto)