This archive report was first published on 9 June 2020.
On May 28, 2020, Burundi's First Lady Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza was airlifted to Nairobi, Kenya, for treatment after contracting COVID-19. She was accompanied by three security personnel and is currently hospitalized at Aga Khan hospital in Nairobi.
Tragically, the news of her husband President Pierre Nkurunziza's sudden death reached her while she was still hospitalized, miles away from her home in Burundi.
According to a press statement, President Nkurunziza, aged 55, died after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was admitted to hospital on Saturday after feeling unwell, but his condition took a turn for the worse on Monday, and efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
President Nkurunziza leaves behind his wife, First Lady Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza, and their five children. The First Lady shared a rare photo of her family on social media.
