Goodbye Paramount Leader, Champion of Patriotism and Leadership Core

[Mimecast]( [Mail & Guardian Newsletter logo](#) [mg.co.za]( [The Ampersand Daily Newsletter from the M&G team](#) [Divider Strip] June 10 2020 | [View in browser]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( Hi there, Pierre Nkurunziza has left the Burundi presidency. He had haggled, manoeuvered and violently prolonged his stint as leader but death is the one thing you can't delay. Nkurunziza once had three schoolgirls detained for doodling on a picture of his face in their school books; two football administrators were once charged with "conspiracy against the president" after he suffered some tough tackles in a friendly match. Cardiac arrest is the reason the Burundian government provided for his passing on Tuesday The seemingly fit 55-year-old had been rushed to hospital on Saturday after he had started to feel unwell while watching a volleyball match. Yes, Nkurunziza had largely chosen to ignore the presence of a global pandemic and happily let his favourite pastimes continue as normal -- despite the fact that his wife, [Denise Bucumi Nkurunziza]( contracted Covid-19 and was airlifted to Kenya last week. Some local publications have concluded that he himself died from the virus; speculation that, although rife, remains unverified. To better understand how Nkurunziza put politics before a pandemic, be sure to read Simon Allison's news [analysis on his life and death](. Back home, our own government is aiming to preserve the regulations it has put in place to contain the coronavirus. Franny Rabkin reports that Co-operative Governance Minister [Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has applied to urgently appeal]( the Pretoria high court judgment that last week ruled lockdown level three and four measures to be unconstitutional. There is also an update on the tertiary education front. Bongekile Macupe details the approach by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande to [allow universities to decide]( which categories of students return to campus. In case you missed it Kente stop, won't stop: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was born on a Tuesday in 1940. Had her birthplace been in Ghana, her name would be Abena. Judging from the speaker's recent stint in kente couture, you'd think she was returning to her West African roots. Congressional Democrats wore stoles made of Kente during a moment of silence for George Floyd, [drawing criticism from observers]( who felt they made the traditional African textile into a political prop. Make laws not fashion statements. Corona in court: Brazil has restored a website that lists the [full data on Covid-19]( in the country, just hours after it was ordered to do so by its Supreme Court. The health ministry stopped releasing cumulative totals for deaths and cases on Saturday, provoking uproar. Local health officials and journalists condemned President Jair Bolsonaro's administration for concealing much of its coronavirus data, calling it censorship. WHO said what?: Recently, the matter of asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 has caused much confusion -- and sparked a lively debate on Twitter. It started on Monday when the World Health Organisation discussed the current understanding of asymptomatic transmission at a press conference. Here's an [explainer]( on what went down. Gotta hand it to him: Cole Carini told FBI agents he had a lawnmower accident, but when agents searched his home they found blood and chunks of human flesh splattered on a bedroom wall. Turns out Carini was the architect of his own misfortune: [he blew off his own hands]( with a bomb he was building to kill "hot cheerleaders". Baiting Biti: Zimbabwe's opposition parties continue to deal with a wildly reactionary government. Tendai Biti, MDC Alliance vice-president, [describes his recent arrest](. "It was farcical and surreal like a poorly scripted Mr Bean film without the comedy," he says. What is happening in the virtual newsroom? This week marks a decade since the 2010 World Cup kicked off. To celebrate the occasion we've spent the last month revisiting the good and the bad of the historic event. Be sure to check out the series, beginning with [Part I: The goal that shook the world](. We may all be at home, but that hasn't stopped our reporters from helping you to see the big picture. To help us to keep providing you with up-to-date and reliable news, please consider [taking out a subscription](. [Subscribe to M&G]( Yours in solidarity Kiri Rupiah & Forthwith Feltham [Divider Strip] [ABSA]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( You are receiving this email on {EMAIL} because 1.) You're a member of "Mail & Guardian" or 2.) previously subscribed [M&G logo] 25 Owl St, Braamfontein Werf, Johannesburg, 2092 Want to be removed? No problem! [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Email support: help@media-connect.co.za - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -