Thousands of Burundians clad in white gathered on Friday in the capital Gitega to say a final goodbye to former president Pierre Nkurunziza at a state funeral after his sudden death earlier this month.
The ceremonies began early in the morning with a "homage by his wife, Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza, his children and those close to him" in an intimate gathering at the hospital where he passed away, a government source told AFP.
"Nowhere in Africa, or the world, has a leader been as close to God as president Nkurunziza was," Ndayishimiye said in a tear-filled speech, adding he was also "the closest to the people".
Nkurunziza, a devout evangelical who believed he was chosen by God to lead Burundi, leaves behind a deeply isolated country in political and economic turmoil.
Burundi has taken few measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, with Nkurunziza claiming God had spared the country from its ravages.
