Savimbi still going strong

Jonas Savimbi: Fighting the government for 25 years

By Lara Pawson in Luanda

Jonas Malheiro Savimbi the relentless rebel leader in Angola, is 66 years old on Thursday.

Foreign diplomats to family members say he is both brilliant and brutal, psychopathic and precociously intelligent.

The man believed by many to be the cause of the country's current crisis, today seems as determined as ever to fight to the end.

The paradoxical way in which people describe Jonas Savimbi says a great deal about the complexity of his character.

Over the years he has combined military discipline, impressive intellect and terror, to ensure he remains a protagonist in Angola's struggle for peace.

Foreign diplomats to family members say he is both brilliant and brutal, psychopathic and precociously intelligent.

Born the son of a preacher and railway worker, Savimbi was sent to a mission school.

Despite being a difficult pupil, in later life few doubt his intellect.

He speaks three local dialects, understands up to seven foreign languages - of which he is fluent in three.

Call me doctor

His followers address him as 'Doctor', yet many doubt he was ever awarded a PhD from the University of Lausanne.

Mr Savimbi: Partial to a drop of Johnny Walker

In the 1960s he went to China to study the art of guerrilla warfare at Nanking Academy.

Even today Mr Savimbi's masterful guerrilla strategy continues to outwit leaders of the national army - keen to capture their oldest enemy.

Nevertheless he trusts no one, not even his own children, of which there are at least 30.

One of his sons, Araujo Sakaita, says Mr Savimbi used to gather his children together, those out of favour would be punished by their father's refusal to kiss them.

But Savimbi has never ordered the execution of a son or daughter. Three of his wives, allegedly, have been killed.

With age Savimbi's liking for 'Johnny Walker' whisky has also increased, some say he was drunk last year when government troops closed in and eventually took control of Unita's headquarters at Andulo.

But even if that is true, his followers continue to describe him as the "father of the nation", the "father of the revolution".

He once said, "those with force will be respected, those with force make history", for Savimbi, fighting is a way of life.