Addis Abeba — An Ethiopian member of the African Union Observer Mission deployed in Zimbabwe for the just-ended presidential run-off and the three House of Assembly by-elections collapsed and died shortly afterward the Zimbabwean Herald reported on Tuesday.

"Head of the observer mission and former President of Sierra Leone Mr. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah announced the death of Professor Brehanu Abebe, from Ethiopia's civil society," the newspaper reported on its website.

It said Kabbah told that Prof Abebe collapsed at Holiday Inn and was rushed to the Avenues Clinic where it said he died on arrival.

"Kabbah said the AU Observer Mission was saddened by the death of one of their staff members," said the report, adding the repatriation of Prof Abebe's body to Ethiopia would be announced in due course.

The observer mission was composed of Pan-African Parliament legislators, senior officials of election management bodies, prominent individuals and members of the civil society organisations drawn from various African countries.

The mission also included a support team of officials and technical personnel from the African Union Commission, according to the report.