Burundi's newly elected president Evariste Ndayishimiye will be sworn in on Thursday, after the sudden death of his predecessor who left him an isolated nation in political and economic turmoil.
Burundi began an official period of mourning for President Pierre Nkurunziza on Wednesday, a day after the announcement of his death from a heart attack aged 55 shocked the impoverished East African nation he had ruled with an iron grip.
Denise Nkurunziza, the widow of Burundi’s late president, returned home from receiving medical treatment in Kenya hours after the announcement of her husband’s death, the BBC has learnt.
Voting in Burundi’s presidential election passed calmly on Wednesday despite simmering political violence, the coronavirus pandemic and the opposition accusing the authorities of fraud.
Burundi is expelling the national head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and three members of his team as it prepares for a presidential election that is being held next week despite concern about health risks during the coronavirus pandemic.
