Zambian President Michael Sata has died in
London, where he had been receiving
treatment for an undisclosed illness, the
government said.
Roland Msiska, secretary to the Zambian
cabinet, said in a statement on Wednesday
that Sata died late on Tuesday in London,
where he was being treated.
"As you are aware the president was receiving
medical attention in London," Msiska told
state television.
"The head of state passed on October 28.
President Sata's demise is deeply regretted.
The nation will be kept informed on burial
arrangements."
Msiska says Sata's wife, Christine Kaseba, and
other family members were with the 77-year-
old president when he died.
An official told Al Jazeera that the death had
been announced to the cabinet on Wednesday
morning.
Sata had left Zambia for medical treatment on
October 19 accompanied by his wife and
family members, according to a brief
government statement that gave no further
details.
There had been no official update on his
condition and acting president Edgar Lungu
had to lead celebrations last week to mark the
landlocked nation's 50th anniversary of
independence from Britain.
For supporters who voted him into office in
2011 he was a no-nonsense man of action.
For critics, the former policeman, trade unionist
and taxidermist was an authoritarian populist.
'King Cobra'
Detractors, political foes, the media and even
allies frequently came under attack from a
man who earned the sobriquet "King Cobra".
He once publicly upbraided his whole cabinet,
threatening to collapse his own government if
they did not do a better job.
The final period of Sata's rule saw a
crackdown on political opponents and critical
journalists who reported on his long-
suspected illness and frequent "working trips"
abroad, apparently for medical treatment.
Concern over Sata's health has been mounting
in the country since June, when he
disappeared from the public eye without
explanation and was then reported to be
getting medical treatment in Israel.
He missed a scheduled speech at the UN
General Assembly in September amid reports
that he had fallen ill in his New York hotel.
A few days before that, he had attended the
opening of parliament in Lusaka, joking: "I am
not dead." Sata has not been seen in public
since he returned to Zambia from New York in
late September.
Sata, who once worked as a railway porter in
London, had been the country's president
since September 2011 after winning a tight
presidential race against the then incumbent,
Rupiah Banda.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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OCT 29, 2014
Zambia's President Michael
Sata Is Dead | Al Jazeera
Sata, who was 77, had been receiving
treatment in a London hospital for an
undisclosed illness.