PROMINENT AFRICAN PRESIDENT WHO DIED ABROAD DUE TO SICKNESS

SOME PROMINENT AFRICAN PRESIDENT WHO DIED ABROAD DUE TO SICKNESS & LACK OF QUALITY HEALTHCARE IN THEIR COUNTRIES

Several African presidents have died abroad due to illness. This issue often highlights the challenges within their home countries’ healthcare systems.

Here are some notable examples:
● Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria): The former Nigerian president recently passed away in London at the age of 82 after a prolonged illness (leukemia). He was known for frequent medical trips abroad during his presidency.

● Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe): Died in Singapore in 2019 at the age of 95, after a period of ill health.

● Michael Sata (Zambia): Died in the United Kingdom in 2014 at the age of 77 due to an undisclosed illness.

● Meles Zenawi (Ethiopia): The former Prime Minister of Ethiopia died in a hospital in Brussels, Belgium, in 2012 at age 57, while undergoing treatment for an undisclosed infection.

● Malam Bacai Sanha (Guinea-Bissau): Died in a Paris hospital in 2012 from complications related to diabetes.

● Omar Bongo (Gabon): Died in Barcelona, Spain, in 2009 from advanced intestinal cancer.

● Levy Mwanawasa (Zambia): Died in France in 2008 after suffering a stroke.

● Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo): Died in 2005 while being evacuated to Europe for medical treatment after suffering a heart attack.
This list is not exhaustive, but these are some prominent cases that have been widely reported.

MORE ELABORATE LIST OF AFRICAN LEADERS WHO FELL ILL AND FLOWN ABROAD OR DIED OVERSEA DUE TO LACK OF GOOD HEALTHCARE THEY REFUSED TO BUILD IN THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES 

List of African Leaders Who Died in Foreign Hospitals

1. Michael Sata – Zambia

Died: October 28, 2014

Hospital: King Edward VII Hospital, London,UK

2. Levy Mwanawasa – Zambia

Died: August 19, 2008

Hospital: Percy Military Hospital, Paris, France

3. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua – Nigeria

Died: May 5, 2010

Hospitalization: Saudi Arabia (King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh)

Died in Nigeria, but had spent months abroad for treatment for pericarditis.

4. President Pascal Lissouba – Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)

Died: August 24, 2020

Place: Perpignan, France (hospitalized).

5. Kamuzu Banda – Malawi

Died: November 25, 1997

Hospital: Garden City Clinic, Johannesburg, South Africa

6. Gnassingbé Eyadéma – Togo

Died: February 5, 2005

Hospitalized during transit: Died aboard a plane en route to a hospital in France

7. Omar Bongo – Gabon

Died: June 8, 2009

Hospital: Clinic in Barcelona, Spain

8. Lansana Conté – Guinea

Died: December 22, 2008

Note: Though he died in Guinea, he frequently traveled abroad for medical care in Switzerland and France.

9. Ali Bongo Ondimba – Gabon

Still alive as of 2025, but was hospitalized for months in Saudi Arabia (2018) and Morocco (2019) after a stroke.

Can you imagine the US president or the UK prime minister in any Hospital in Africa?