The President of the Republic of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza has died of heart failure at 56.
Burundi’s Presidency in a statement on Tuesday said Pierre Nkurunziza was hospitalised over the weekend and that his health “abruptly changed” on Monday.
The government further described the death of the president as unexpected.
“The Government of the Republic of Burundi announces with great sadness the unexpected death of His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, President of the Republic of Burundi… following heart failure on June 8, 2020.”
It said the country would observe seven days of mourning beginning Tuesday.
An evangelical who believed he was chosen by God to rule the East African nation, Pierre Nkurunziza came to power in 2005, when he was selected by parliament.
His controversial and ultimately successful bid for a third term in 2015 plunged the country into crisis.
The violence left at least 1,200 people dead, displaced hundreds of thousands and the authorities carried out a sustained crackdown on the opposition and media.
His death comes on the heels of elections on May 20 in which his hand-picked successor, Evariste Ndayishimiye, secured a seven-year term as president — a result confirmed by the constitutional court last Thursday.
Ndayishimiye was due to be sworn in in August.
AFP