Zambian President Michael Sata has died at the age of 77
after receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness, family sources and
Zambian media say.
President Sata, who was being treated in the UK for the past
week, died on Tuesday night, Zambia Reports said.
It said that he died after "a sudden onset [of]
heightened heart rate".
His death comes just days after Zambia celebrated the 50th
anniversary of its independence from the UK.
Earlier this month reports in Zambia said that President
Sata had gone abroad for a medical check-up amid persistent speculation that he
was seriously ill.
After he left the country, Defence Minister Edgar Lungu was
named as acting president.
Vice-President Guy Scott has regularly stood in for the
president at official events. But he is of Scottish descent and his parents
were not born in Zambia, so he may fall foul of a constitutional clause on
parentage which would nullify his candidacy.
Known as "King Cobra" for his venomous tongue, Mr
Sata was elected Zambia's president in 2011.
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