In April 2012, Mutharika died of a heart attack. Over a period of 48 hours, his death was kept secret, including an elaborate flight with the body to South Africa, where the ambulance drivers refused to move the body, saying they were not licensed to move a corpse.  After the South African government threatened to reveal the information, the presidential title was taken over by Vice-President Joyce Banda (not related to the former president Banda).