Zambian President Michael State has died in a London hospital after suffering from an undisclosed illness. He was 77 years old and died a few days after Zambia celebrated its independence anniversary.
BBC reports that President Sata died in King Edward VII hospital on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 after “a sudden onset [of] heightened heart rate.”
President Sata’s successor is not yet known and will be decided by the country’s cabinet on Wednesday, October 29, 2014.
Cabinet secretary Riland Msiska said: “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing on of our beloved president,”
Minister of Defence, Edgar Lungu has been acting as president since Mata’s was hospitalised, although Vice-President Guy Scott has been representing the president at official events.
Scott’s nationality stands against his selection as President Sata’s successor as he is of Scottish descent and may lose out on the Zambian constitutional clause on parentage.
Late Sata, popularly known as “King Cobra” because of his sharp tongue was elected as President in September 2011, defeating the incumbent Rupiah Banda, whose party had held sway for over twenty years.
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