JOHANNESBURG, Sept 8, 2018 (News Wires) - The former president of Angola on Saturday said he made mistakes during his long rule but was holding his "head high" as he stepped down as leader of the ruling MPLA party. The political exit of Jose Eduardo dos Santos comes as President Joao Lourenco, a former defense minister, pledges to dismantle corruption that flourished under his predecessor, who took power in 1979. At a party congress, delegates moved to elect Lourenco as the new chief of the MPLA, which has led oil-rich Angola since independence from Portugal in 1975. In departing remarks, the 76-year-old dos Santos said he had not expected to be in power so long and that no "human activity" is free of mistakes. "I accept that I also committed them," said dos Santos.