President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, has died of heart failure, the government said on Tuesday.
“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 in a post on its official Twitter account.
The goovernment statement added that Nkurunziza was admitted to hospital on Saturday after feeling unwell, his condition improved but on Monday he had a cardiac arrest and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
The 55 year old former president was due to step down from the presidency in August after 15 years in power.
In 2015, the announcement that he would run for a third term plunged the country into chaos.
After a change in the constitution, he was able to run for a further term in last month’s election but he decided to retire and was to be known as the “supreme guide to patriotism”.
