The Government of Burundi has announced the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza.
According to an official press release President Nkurunziza died after a heart attack.
Reports have indicated that Nkurunziza died on Monday while undergoing treatment.
On Sunday the President had attended a volleyball match in Ngozi, but fell ill on Sunday night.
President Nkurunziza’s wife Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza was admitted at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi after contracting Covid-19.
A source at the hospital said Mrs Nkurunziza is receiving treatment for an underlying condition as well.
She was airlifted to Nairobi on 30th May following a government-to-government agreement using Amref’s acquired portable isolation chamber, which is an innovative medical unit and transportation system designed for optimal safety during patient loading and transport.
A source said the unit is a single patient isolator made of cleanable materials and is compatible with leading ambulance-stretcher systems as well as with most mechanical ventilator circuits.
“Due to our patient confidentiality policy, we cannot share any information with the public,” the hospital’s communication department stated.
Burundi has put up a lacklustre fight against the coronavirus and the landlocked country of some 11 million has officially recorded 42 cases and one death from the coronavirus.
It has taken few precautions against the disease and testing is low, fuelling concerns that the true extent of the outbreak is not known.
The Burundi government ordered the country’s top World Health Organization (WHO) representative and three other experts coordinating the coronavirus response to leave the country.
The expelled officials include WHO representative Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, the country’s coronavirus coordinator Dr Jean Pierre Mulunda and Professor Daniel Tarzy.
Burundians went to the polls on May 20 to choose a new president, parliamentarians and local officials.
The country’s election commission said on Monday the governing party candidate, retired General Evariste Ndayishimiye, had won the presidential election with 69 per cent of the vote.
It added that candidate Agathon Rwasa got 24 per cent of the vote and the election was peaceful.