Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza, who died of a heart attack aged 55 according to an official statement released on Tuesday, has left behind a mixed legacy.

Viewed as a pan- Africanist by his East African Community (EAC) peers and as a ruthless dictator by his critics, Nkurunziza was a dominant figure in Burundi’s politics in the last 26 years.

"Death has robbed East Africa of a prominent leader whose contribution to the integration and progress of the region shall be sorely missed,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement.

Libérat Mfumukeko, a Burundi national who serves as EAC’s Secretary- General, said in a statement on June 9: “President Nkurunziza’s unequivocally decided to lead Burundi into the community in 2007, having figured out that the economic, social and political homogeneity of the region provided vast opportunities for his country’s economic recovery and national reconciliation.”

Nkurunziza, a former leader of a Hutu rebel group, was elected by lawmakers after promising peace but oversaw a crackdown on political opponents and the media when he was re-elected five years later.