In a recurring trend across Africa, several prominent leaders have died while receiving treatment abroad, raising concerns over inadequate healthcare systems at home.
In a recurring trend across Africa, several prominent leaders have died while receiving treatment abroad, raising concerns over inadequate healthcare systems at home. Notably, Zambia’s President Michael Sata died in London in 2014, after months of official denials about his condition. His predecessor, Levy Mwanawasa, passed away in France in 2008 following a stroke. Nigeria’s Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died in 2010 in Saudi Arabia, sparking a constitutional crisis. Burundi’s Pierre Nkurunziza died in 2020 amid speculation he had sought foreign care. Tanzania’s John Magufuli was officially declared dead locally in 2021, but opposition claimed he was treated abroad. Gabon’s Ali Bongo survived a 2018 stroke after treatment in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari died in a London hospital on July 13, 2025, aged 82. “The deaths… have raised questions about the elite’s access to overseas treatment, while millions… grapple with underfunded and poorly equipped hospitals at home.”