Burundi president dies of suspected Covid-19, Africa passes 200,000 confirmed cases

NAIROBI, Jun 10, 2020, The Guardian. Flags flew at half mast in Burundi on Monday, the morning after the announcement of the sudden death of the president, Pierre Nkurunziza, who many suspect died of Covid-19, The Guardian reported.

The first lady, Denise Bucumi, who had been recovering from the coronavirus in a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, flew back to Bujumbura late on Tuesday, a source in the presidency told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Condolences poured in from across Africa. John Magufuli, president of Tanzania, praised Nkurunziza’s “strong leadership and his efforts to fight for peace, development and democracy.”

But critics regretted that Nkurunziza had died without justice being served for human rights abuses under his rule. His 2015 run for a third term in office sparked protests and a failed coup, with violence leaving at least 1,200 dead while some 400,000 fled the country.

Members of the ruling party mourned Nkurunziza’s death. “It is a catastrophe, it is as if the sky has crashed down on us. What will become of us without our supreme guide,” one party leader told AFP, sobbing, on condition of anonymity.

Gerard, a party member in Nkurunziza’s home province of Ngozi, was quoted by the French news agency as saying he could not understand how Nkurunziza “had died just like that… we are obliged to believe this official version, but I don’t understand.”

Rumours swirled on social media, with some wondering if he had been poisoned, while others suspecting he had been infected by coronavirus. Burundi has largely ignored the pandemic, which Nkurunziza declared had spared Burundi thanks to God.

Some in the country were gripped by anxiety over what comes next.

“I am very worried for the future of course, because we don’t know what is going to happen in the coming days, if the CNDD-FDD is not going to tear themselves apart over the leadership,” said Raoul, a young opposition supporter who works in a bank, and like many only gave his first name.

The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Africa has passed 200,000, according to the World Health Organization’s office for the region.

According to the latest update by the UN health agency, 201,157 people have tested positive for the virus across the 54 countries in Africa, of whom 90,374 have recovered and 5,486 have died, the UN health agency said.