Former Tanzanian President, Mkapa dies at 81

The Tanzanian Government has announced the death of their former president, Benjamin Nkapa who died at 81 in a Dar el Salaam hospital.

The cause of his death was not revealed.
“I’m saddened by the death of the third president of Tanzania and that is a big loss for us as a country. Let’s pray for him and more information will follow later,” said President John Magufuli in a short televised speech.

Mkapa was the country’s third president after independence from Britain in 1962 and ruled from 1995 to 2005.

With a degree in English from Uganda he worked as a journalist before being appointed the press secretary for the country’s first president Julius Nyerere.