Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa died at the age of 81 on the night of Thursday to Friday, July 24. The Rwandan Head of State, Paul Kagame expressed his sadness at the news.
The third Tanzanian Head of State, Benjamin William Mkapa, is no more, Tanzanian President Dr. Pombe Magufuli announced on national television. A seven-day mourning period has been decreed. Flags will be flown at half-mast.
President Paul Kagame expressed his sadness at the death of the former leader of the United Republic of Tanzania.
“We are saddened by the passing of former President Mkapa. My deepest condolences to his family, to the Tanzanian people and to my friend President John Pombe Magufuli,” Paul Kagame wrote on Twitter. “The loss of our brother Mkapa is a loss that will be felt throughout the continent. He was a great pan-Africanist whose contribution went far beyond Tanzania,” added the Rwandan Head of State.
Benjamin William Mukapa was President of Tanzania from 1995 to 2000. He was re-elected for a second five-year term. He was a mediator in the latest Burundian crisis following Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term. In 2008, Benjamin William Mkapa was part of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s mediation team to end the electoral crisis in Kenya.
Gerard Rugambwa
