The video game Call of duty has allegedly depicted Jonas Savimbi as a barbarian. This forced the family of the fallen Angolan rebel commander to file a case against the game creators.
According to News Week, Savimbi led and found the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). A group that fought a civil war against the Angolan government for 27 years from 1995 until 2002. During the war, 500,000 people died and another four million lost their homes. Savimbi's rebel group was against the governing Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).
The guerilla leader has three children, who are now currently living near Paris. They are the one who filed a 1 million euro damage case against the game company Activision Blizzard. The late Angolan rebel appeared in the game Call of Duty; Black Ops II, which was released last November 2012. The game is extremely popular and has generated over $550 million in sales. In the game, Savimbi was shown as a grenade launcher-wielding fighter who leads the rebel forces to destroy MPLA.
The lawyer of Savimbi children, Carole Enfert said that the image depicted of the rebel leader was a big halfwit who wants to kill everybody and it did not show his work as a political leader and strategist. The complaint also included the protest of one of his sons, who is mistakenly identified the game character as his father due to their close resemblance.
The French government has strict laws regarding defamation even if the person is already deceased. The UK-based law attorney, Alex Tutty said that France doesn't permit defamation action where the deceased relative's reputation suffer due to the alleged defamation.
Lawyer of Activision Blizzard, Etienne Kowalski said that the game did not misrepresent Savimbi. He added that it even showed him in a favorable light, a good guy who helped the heroes.
