Former President of Congo, Jacques Joaquim Yhombi Opango is dead.

Opango died of coronavirus in France on Monday

BBC reports that his son, Jean-Jacques said the 81-year old was sick before contacting the disease.

Born in 1939, Yhombi Opango was an army officer who rose to power after the assassination of president Marien Ngouabi.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, on Monday confirmed that South Africa has more confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) than any other country in Africa.

WHO said South Africa is the most affected by the coronavirus in Africa, with 1,280 cases, one death, and 31 recoveries as of Monday, March 30.