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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, who tested positive for COVID-19 four weeks ago, has died aged 52 after being hospitalized in neighboring South Africa, the government of the small absolute monarchy said on Sunday.
“Their Majesties have ordered that I inform the Nation of the sad and untimely passing of His Excellency Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini. His Excellency passed away this afternoon while under medical care in a South African hospital,” Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said in a release.
Dlamini was flown to South Africa on December 1 to “guide and accelerate his recovery” from COVID-19. At the time, Masuku said that Dlamini was stable and responding well to treatment.
Dlamini was appointed Prime Minister in November 2018, following his position as CEO of MTN Eswatini. He had worked in the banking industry for over 18 years, including as Managing Director of Eswatini Nedbank Limited.
The southern African nation of around 1.2 million people has so far recorded 6,768 positive cases of the highly infectious respiratory disease, with 127 confirmed deaths, according to the Health Ministry.
(Information from Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg and Lunga Masuku in Mbabane; edited by Daniel Wallis)
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