Exit on duty: African leaders who have died in office in last 20 years

Death is an inevitable part of life. The pain of loss differs depending on who dies. So when a sitting president dies, a nation is ordinarily united in grief, more often, the grief extends to the subregion and the continent at large.

An expected exception is the case of anti-apartheid activist and global icon, Nelson Mandela, whose death united the world in grief.

World leaders descended on South Africa to pay their respects to the man South Africa still celebrates, Tata Madiba.

This article looks back to the instances of presidential deaths in Africa over the last two decades – i.e. between 1999 and today. In 1999, two African leaders died in the persons of Morocco's King Hassan III (pneumonia) and President Ibrahim Mainassara of Niger (assassinated).

The most recent death is of President John Joseph Pombe Magufuli, who died of heart complications at the age of 61 according to the official government statement. Reports are rife that he died of coronavirus - despite being a vociferous denier of the pandemic.



See the list of deaths as presented in a BBC infographic:

Read Full Story