Zambian President Sata dies in London aged 77

Zambian President Michael Sata has died in London, where he had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness, a government source in Africa's second-largest copper producer said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The private Muzi television station and the Zambia Reports and Zambian Watchdog websites said the southern African nation's 77-year-old leader died on Tuesday evening at London's King Edward VII hospital.

"It is true. We lost the President. The acting president will make a statement soon," the source told Reuters.

Sata is likely to be succeeded on an interim basis by defense minister Edgar Lungu, who stood in recently as acting president, or vice-president Guy Scott, who would become Africa's first white head of state since South Africa's FW de Klerk in 1994.

The constitution says a new presidential election must be held within 90 days, with most analysts saying Scott is unlikely to run because of citizenship restrictions.