The Burundi government on Tuesday confirmed that outgoing President Pierre Nkurunziza has died of heart failure, two months before he was scheduled to leave office, reported Reuters.
Mr. Nkurunziza died at a hospital in eastern Burundi on Monday after he fell ill over the weekend and was hospitalized after attending a volleyball game, according to an official statement released on Tuesday.
“The government of the Republic of Burundi present their most sincere condolences to the Burundian people in general and to his afflicted family. Burundi has just lost a dignified son of the country, the President of the Republic, a Supreme Guide of National Patriotism,” the statement said.
The statement described Nkurunziza’s death as unexpected and urged people to remain calm. The Burundi government has declared seven days of mourning in memory of the late president and the country’s flag will be flown at half-staff.
Nkurunziza’s wife Denise Nkurunziza was flown to Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, 10 days ago after contracting Covid-19. She is currently recovering at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.
Nkurunziza came to power at the end of Burundi’s 12-year civil war, which killed 300,000 people. The civil war led to ethnic tensions in the country similar to the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda, where Hutu extremists slaughtered 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Nkurunziza survived a failed coup attempt by an army general in 2015 while the President was in Tanzania. He decided not to seek a fourth term in presidential elections held in May. He was due to retire in August and be succeeded by Gen. Evariste Ndayishimiye, the ruling party candidate who won Burundi’s presidential election last month.
Last week, the Burundian Constitutional Court announced Ndayishimiye had won 68 percent of the vote amid allegations brought forward by the opposition that claimed that the ruling party and its military wing intimidated voters during the campaign.
