The president of the African country of Burundi, Mr Pierre Nkurunziza; has died of a cardiac arrest after 15 years in power. sources say.
He 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, officials say.
When the former rebel leader took office in 2005, at the age of 40; the country that had been brutally torn apart by an ethnic conflict that had killed about 300,000 over a decade.
Young, optimistic and charismatic, he managed to live up to everyone’s expectations by uniting people and rebuilding the economy. Between 2006 and 2011, the president; known for his preaching and love of football – received seven international awards for his peace-building efforts.
But after a decade in power, his reputation took a nose dive and the unity he had built collapsed; when he organised a referendum to allow him to stand for a third term. Deadly protests erupted, there was a coup attempt and hundreds of thousands of people fled the country.
The official statement announcing the president’s death said; he was taken ill in the evening after helping out at a volleyball match in Ngozi, northern Burundi, on Saturday.
He went to hospital, but appeared to be recovering on Sunday and was able to communicate with the people surrounding him, the government says.
His condition, however, rapidly changed on Monday.
Mr Pierre Nkurunziza who was due to step down in August, was loved and feared in equal measure; loved by those who felt he lived up to his promises when he was elected after the civil war, and feared by his political opponents.