Sawt Falasteen - Pope visits Eq. Guinea on last stop of Africa tour

After three days in Angola, the US-born pontiff is due around noon (1100 GMT) in the Central African country, ruled since 1979 by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 83, the world's longest-serving head of state who is not a monarch.

Leo follows in the footsteps of John Paul II, who 40 years ago became the first pope to visit Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich country of two million people, 80 percent of whom are Catholic, a legacy of Spanish colonisation.

Throughout his African tour, the pope has criticised tyranny and exploitation while promoting peace and social, swapping his previously reserved style for a tougher tone.

All eyes are whether that trend will continue in Equatorial Guinea, where he will be hosted by a government regularly accused of authoritarianism and human rights abuses.

Most of the country's opposition figures and independent media, hounded by the authorities, are in exile in Spain.

The Equatorial Guinean authorities are regularly singled out by international NGOs for endemic corruption and repression of the opposition, marked by arbitrary detentions and curbs on public freedoms.

- 'Spiritual change' -

In the former capital Malabo, located on the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea, giant portraits of the pope and welcome banners line the streets, alongside flags of the Vatican and Equatorial Guinea.

A hymn composed in his honour will be sung by church choirs across the country throughout his visit.

Malabo resident Juan Raul told AFP he sees the visit as an opportunity to bring the nation together.

"This will bring spiritual change and motivate many people to go to mass," he said.

Leo will speak on Tuesday before the president, members of the government, the diplomatic corps and civil society, as well as representatives of the cultural sector.

On Wednesday, he will travel to Obiang's Mongomo stronghold to hold a mass and greet students and teachers at a technology school named after Pope Francis.

He will then continue to the economic capital Bata to pay tribute to the victims of a 2021 explosion that killed more than 108 people in a military camp and also visit inmates at Bata prison.

On Thursday, the pontiff will hold a large mass at Malabo stadium before wrapping up his whirlwind 11-day 18,000-kilometre (11,200-mile) journey across Africa.

J.Saleh--SF-PST