Analysts interviewed by DW Africa call for an investigation into the Angolan oil company Sonangol, of which businesswoman Isabel dos Santos is accused of having embezzled funds when she was chairman of the board.  

The investigation should also cover the administrations of other personalities, analysts say.

Angolan journalist José Gama says that in the process of embezzling money from Angola's largest state-owned company, only Isabel dos Santos' "sins" are mentioned and the information about embezzlement before former President José Eduardo dos Santos appointed his daughter to head the company in 2016 is "hidden".

José Gama says there needs to be an investigation into Sonangol.

"For many years, Sonangol was seen as the center of corruption in Angola. Quim David, Manuel Vicente, Lemos Maria, Isabel dos Santos and others have been there. Until now, there has never been an investigation into their mandates. They're only focusing on Isabel dos Santos' consulate," she says, reinforcing what the Angolan businesswoman herself defended in an interview with DW Africa.

In an exclusive interview with DW Africa, the Angolan businesswoman said that "Luanda Leaks" was a "commission" from someone who wanted to attack her personally. For José Gama, Isabel dos Santos is right.

The analyst says that the fact that the Angolan authorities are denying the request for a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry made by the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) proves the existence of various crimes at Sonangol.

"The purpose was Isabel dos Santos. If there was a purpose, someone designed the strategy of leaking the documents. Only exclusive documents linked to Isabel dos Santos' consulate were leaked. Therefore, Isabel dos Santos is not wrong when she says that it was an order," the journalist defends. "Now, we don't know if the Angolan state is responsible for the commission. But it was done in the interests of the Angolan state," adds journalist José Gama.

Political analyst Ilídio Manuel disagrees with Isabel dos Santos' statements. The journalist also says that José Eduardo dos Santos' daughter created the Unitel company with money from Sonangol and with her father's authorization.

"Her father, of course, was the person with the political and financial power. That's exactly what she did," he says.

"That argument doesn't hold water, it's very empty, because no one is going to believe that she made it on her own. In fact, I also don't believe that there are any businesspeople in Angola who have prospered without having had recourse to the treasury or the benevolence of the ruling party," says the analyst, in a reference to the ruling MPLA.

Ilídio Manuel says that the oil company has always been characterized by a lack of management transparency.

"Everyone knows that the management of Sonangol has always been between the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the President of the Republic. I believe that this arrangement, which dates back to the time of José Eduardo dos Santos, has not changed. Everything remains the same," says the journalist, who is demanding more transparency in the country's largest company, which contributes the most to the Angolan state budget.