DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Tens of hundreds of Tanzanians on Tuesday paid their last respects to their former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, who died Saturday after a long illness.
The body of Lowassa, 70, lay in state at the Karimjee Hall grounds in the port city of Dar es Salaam as one after another paid their last respects to Lowassa who died at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) in Dar es Salaam.
Vice President Philip Mpango who announced the death of Lowassa Saturday evening was the first high-ranking government official to pay his last respects. Other dignitaries included Tanzania's Zanzibar President Hussein Ali Mwinyi, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, former President Jakaya Kikwete, and former Tanzania's Zanzibar President Ali Mohamed Shein.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Majaliwa announced that Lowassa will be laid to rest in his home village of Ngarash in Monduli district in Arusha region on Feb. 17.
He said the burial of the former prime minister will be attended by President Samia Suluhu Hassan. ■