Zambian president Michael Sata was buried and laid to rest Tuesday at a state funeral with a 21-gun salute and Zambian Air Force jets flying overhead, according to an AFP video.

He died Oct. 28 at age 77 in a London hospital of an undisclosed illness. Acting president Guy Scott is leading the country until elections can be held within a constitutionally mandated 90 days.

Zambians and African heads of state gathered in Lusaka for an emotional send off, Mail&Guardian reports.

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, outgoing Mozambican president Armando Emilio Guebuza, Madagascan President Hery Rajaonarimampianina and Namibia’s Hifikepunye Pohamba joined Scott at the funeral service. South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa represented President Jacob Zuma.

Apart from Mugabe, this was the first time any sitting president has visited Zambia since 2011, when Sata’s Patriotic Front (PF) won the general elections, Mail&Guardian reports.

Thousands of Zambians lined the streets of Lusaka to watch as the casket carrying Sata’s body was driven by defense forces from the state house to the newly constructed, 50,000-seat National Heroes Stadium. A requiem church service was conducted.

The African Union called on Tuesday for a stable electoral transition in Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer Reuters reports.

Scott became Africa’s first white leader since the end of apartheid in 1994. Elections are expected to be held by January.

“Let us ensure a smooth leadership transition,” African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told thousands of mourners after a service at the National Heroes Stadium, Reuters reports.

Zambia should prepare for a free, fair and transparent election that would be respected by all, said Catholic Archbishop of Lusaka, Telesphore Mpundu, during the service.

Concerns over Zambia’s stability arose when Scott fired presidential front-runner, Edgar Lungu, as secretary-general of the ruling party on Nov. 3. Scott reinstated him Nov. 4 after the move triggered protests, Reuters reports.

Because Scott’s parents were born abroad, he is constitutionally barred from running for president.

The central committee of the ruling Patriotic Front party will meet on Thursday to discuss the selection of its presidential candidate, according to Reuters.

Nicknamed “King Cobra,” the sharp-tongued Sata was a divisive figure who criticized foreign mining companies and defended workers’ rights. He had an ambitious road-building program, Reuters reports.

Everybody loved Sata, Mugabe said, according to PostZambia. Mugabe urged people to judge him by his good deeds and contributions.

Tanzanian Vice-President Mohammed Bilal said Sata played a crucial role in the Southern African Development Community when it came to helping commercial relationships.

Other dignitaries at the funeral included Swaziland Prime
Minister Banarbas Sibusiso Dhlamini; South Africa’s first lady Bongekile Zuma; African Union Chairwoman Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma and Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda.

Sata’s death will not only affect Zambia but Africa as a whole, Dlamini-Zuma said.

President Rajaonarimampianina described Sata as highly approachable. “I met him two or three times at the SADC summit and we made friends instantly and connected like brothers,” he said. “He was a great man and his legacy spins on because I can see his people are great people.”