The government of Eswatini says Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini has died, four weeks after he tested positive for coronavirus.

A government statement said Dlamini, 52, died on Sunday afternoon in hospital in South Africa.

No cause of death was mentioned, but Dlamini had recently been receiving treatment for Covid-19 in South Africa. 

Dlamini had been prime minister of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, since October 2018.

The tiny landlocked country in southern Africa is one of the last absolute monarchies in the world.

With a population of about one million, the country has recorded 6,768 coronavirus infections and 127 deaths linked to the pandemic, according to the health ministry.

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