Tanzania buries Magufuli at family home with 21-gun salute

Late Tanzanian president John Pombe Magufuli has been buried at his family home in his hometown of Chato in the country's Geita region.

Local media portals reported that the late president's body was lowered into the grave at exactly 16:45 local time at his family home which lies along the southern shores of Lake Victoria.

The army were on site to offer the former commander-in-chief a 21-gun salute as fighter jets flew past the graveyard.

Today's burial marks the end of a weeklong series of events that saw the remains of Magufuli driven across the country for citizens to pay their final respects.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan led the ceremony which was attended by top government and ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi, CMM, members.

A national funeral earlier this week attracted about ten African leaders who gathered in Dodoma, the capital, to mourn with the government and people of Tanzania.

Magufuli was the East African nation's fifth president, first elected in late 2015.

He is the first incumbent to die while in office since independence whiles his deputy and now successor also made history by becoming the first woman to ascend to the presidency.