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Jonas Savimbi
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==Death== After surviving more than six assassination attempts, and having been reported dead at least 17 times, Savimbi was killed on 22 February 2002, in a battle with Angolan government troops along riverbanks in the province of [[Moxico (province)|Moxico]], his birthplace.<ref name="Economist">{{cite news |title=Jonas Savimbi |type=obituary |url=http://www.economist.com/node/1010682 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=28 February 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809223508/http://www.economist.com/node/1010682 |archive-date=9 August 2014}}</ref> In the firefight, Savimbi sustained 15 gunshot wounds to his head, throat, upper body and legs. While Savimbi returned fire, his wounds proved fatal; he died almost instantly. <ref>{{cite news |title=Savimbi 'died with gun in hand' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1839252.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=25 February 2002 |access-date=8 June 2019 |archive-date=4 April 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040404144915/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1839252.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Savimbi's somewhat mystical reputation for eluding the Angolan military and their Soviet and Cuban military advisors led many Angolans to question the validity of reports of his 2002 death in combat until pictures of his bloodied and bullet-riddled body appeared on Angolan state television, and the [[United States Department of State|United States State Department]] subsequently confirmed it. He was interred in Luena Main Cemetery in [[Luena, Moxico Province]]. On 3 January 2008, his tomb was vandalised and four members of the youth wing of the MPLA were charged and arrested.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-01-23-jonas-savimbis-tomb-vandalised-says-unita |title=Jonas Savimbi's tomb vandalised, says UNITA |newspaper=[[Mail and Guardian]] |date=23 January 2008 |first=Roja |last=Cawaia |access-date=8 June 2019 |archive-date=25 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225060723/http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-01-23-jonas-savimbis-tomb-vandalised-says-unita |url-status=live }}</ref> His body was exhumed and reburied publicly in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jonas Savimbi: Angola's former Unita leader reburied after 17 years |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48483246 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=1 June 2019 |access-date=8 June 2019 |archive-date=2 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602221414/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48483246 |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Legacy=== Savimbi was succeeded by [[António Dembo]], who assumed UNITA's leadership on an interim basis in February 2002. But Dembo had sustained wounds in the same attack that killed Savimbi, and he died from them three days later and was succeeded by [[Paulo Lukamba Gato]]. Six weeks after Savimbi's death, a ceasefire between UNITA and the MPLA was signed, but Angola remains deeply divided politically between MPLA and UNITA supporters. A [[2008 Angolan legislative election|parliamentary election in September 2008]] resulted in an overwhelming majority for the MPLA, but its legitimacy was questioned by international observers.<ref>{{cite web|date=13 August 2008|title=Angola: Doubts Over Free and Fair Elections|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/08/13/angola-doubts-over-free-and-fair-elections|website=Human Rights Watch|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525025304/https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/08/13/angola-doubts-over-free-and-fair-elections|url-status=live}}</ref> In the years since Savimbi's death, his legacy has been a source of debate. "The mistake that Savimbi made, the historical, big mistake he made, was to reject (the election) and go back to war", Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at London-based [[Chatham House]] research institute said in February 2012.<ref name="rnw.nl">{{cite news |url=http://www.rnw.nl/africa/bulletin/angolas-savimbi-still-haunts-10-years |title=Angola's Savimbi still haunts 10 years on |work=[[Radio Netherlands Worldwide]] |date=21 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223190538/http://www.rnw.nl/africa/bulletin/angolas-savimbi-still-haunts-10-years |archive-date=23 February 2012 |access-date=8 June 2019}}</ref> Africa expert Paula Roque, of the [[University of Oxford]], says Savimbi was "a very charismatic man, a man who exuded power and leadership. We can't forget that for a large segment of the population, UNITA represented something."<ref name="rnw.nl" /> He was survived by "several wives and dozens of children",<ref name="Economist"/> the latter numbering at least 25.
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