Burundi president dies of ‘heart attack’ at 55

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza, aged 55, has died of a heart attack, the government says..

The outgoing president died at Karusi hospital after suffering a heart attack on June 8, the statement added.

“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, at the Karusi Fiftieth Anniversary Hospital following a cardiac arrest on June 8, 2020,” the government said.

Nkurunziza’s death comes just ten days after his wife Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza was airlifted to Nairobi after contracting COVID-19.

President Nkurunziza did not vie in his country’s May elections, the first time in 15 years that he did not run for the presidency.

He served three terms, the third of which sparked lengthy unrest in the country.

More to follow…