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