Catholic Tanzania's president John Magufuli dies aged 61 after Covid rumours: What Museveni should learn from late president Magufuli’s death: You can’t be president for ever

 

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John Magufuli: Tanzania's president dies aged 61 after Covid rumours

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56437852

Published

7 hours ago

 

Tanzania's President John Magufuli has died aged 61, the country's vice-president has announced.

He died on Wednesday from heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, Samia Suluhu Hassan said in an address on state television.

Magufuli had not been seen in public for more than two weeks, and rumours have been circulating about his health.

Opposition politicians said last week that he had contracted Covid-19, but this has not been confirmed.

Magufuli was one of Africa's most prominent coronavirus sceptics, and called for prayers and herbal-infused steam therapy to counter the virus.

"It is with deep regret that I inform you that today... we lost our brave leader, the president of the Republic of Tanzania, John Pombe Magufuli," Vice-President Hassan said in the announcement.

She said there would be 14 days of national mourning and flags would fly at half mast.

According to Tanzania's constitution, Ms Hassan will be sworn in as the new president and should serve the remainder of Magufuli's five-year team which he began last year.

Magufuli was last seen in public on 27 February, but Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa insisted last week that the president was "healthy and working hard".

He blamed the rumours of the president's ill-health on "hateful" Tanzanians living abroad.

But opposition leader Tundu Lissu told the BBC that his sources had told him Magufuli was being treated in hospital for coronavirus in Kenya.

 

• Born in Chato, north-west Tanzania, in 1959
• Studied chemistry and maths at the University of Dar es Salaam
• Worked as a chemistry and maths teacher
• First elected as an MP in 1995
• Became a cabinet minister in 2000
• First elected president in 2015

Magufuli declared Tanzania "Covid-19 free" last June. He mocked the efficacy of masks, expressed doubts about testing, and teased neighbouring countries which imposed health measures to curb the virus.

Tanzania has not published details of its coronavirus cases since May, and the government has refused to purchase vaccines.

On Monday, police said they had arrested four people on suspicion of spreading rumours on social media that the president was ill.

"To spread rumours that he's sick smacks of hate," Mr Majaliwa said at the time.

 

A legacy set for debate

Analysis by Dickens Olewe, BBC News

John Magufuli cultivated an image of a rambunctious action man, a departure from his predecessors' demure and stately styles.

His interventionist leadership won him fans beyond Tanzania, especially in the East African region where he once inspired the #WhatWouldMagufuliDo Twitter hashtag that was shared by supporters of his no-nonsense approach to fighting corruption.

There will be vigorous debate about his legacy and whether his successor should stay the course or change direction.

But this discussion cannot be divorced from the current trend on the continent, where support for democracy remains strong but most people are increasingly disillusioned by the failure to deliver the promised dividends.

So while a significant number of Africans would prefer an action-driven leader like Magufuli, they equally want leaders who govern honestly and a government that respects them and does not hide information about their president's health.

Magufuli's death has been attributed to a long-standing heart condition, but many will still suspect that he succumbed to Covid-19.

It is an irony that the pandemic he so strenuously denied has outlasted him, turning his once heralded presidency into a cautionary tale for the region and the continent.

Magufuli was declared president on his 56th birthday in October 2015. He was elected for a second term following a disputed poll last year.

He was hailed for his anti-corruption stance during his time in office, but he was also accused of cracking down on dissent and curtailing certain freedom.

His critics agree that Magufuli contributed to Tanzania's development. He invested in large infrastructure projects such as a standard-gauge railway to connect the country with its neighbours, major highways, and a bus system in the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam.

He also increased electricity production, reducing the need for power rationing.

But it is his approach to Covid-19 that many analysts say will define his legacy. There has been little testing in the country and no plans made for a vaccination programme, leaving the country as an outlier.

In Tanzania, locals have reacted with grief and disbelief to the news of Magufuli's death.

One, Joseph Petro, told the BBC he thought Magufuli was a "caring" leader, adding "he was helping people in one way or another".

"I am really pained. I am personally pained," he said.

Another, Illuminata Abel, offered similar sentiments: "He was not my relative, but he was someone who listened to people's problems, and he was down to earth."

 

Tanzania President Magufuli announced dead

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56437852 

March 18, 2021

 

Written by VOA

 

Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli has officially been announced dead by the vice president Samia Suluhu, confirming the widespread rumours by the opposition that he'd died last week.

Suluhu said Magufuli died of heart complications on Wednesday at a hospital in Dar es Salam but all indications seem to point that Magufuli, 61, who controversially won a disputed election last year died of coronavirus disease. Suluhu said burial arrangements were underway and announced 14 days of mourning and the flying of flags at half-staff. State television broadcast mournful and religious songs.

“Dear Tanzanians, it is sad to announce that today 17 March 2021 around 6 p.m. we lost our brave leader, President John Magufuli who died from heart disease at Mzena hospital in Dar es Salaam where he was getting treatment," the vice president said on state broadcaster TBC. He becomes Tanzania's first president to die while in office.

 

Two days earlier, while speaking in the northeastern town of Tanga at the launch of a government project, Suluhu seemed to imply that to Magufuli was sick without mentioning him by name.

“I want to confirm to you Tanzania is safe. It’s normal for a human being to undergo checkups like flu and fever and could suffer other illnesses. I want to plead with Tanzanians, if there was a time to hold together is now. This is the time to build unity. It's not a time to listen to information coming from outside,” said the vice president then.

Magufuli dismissed the existence of COVID-19 and even refused to receive vaccinations offered to his country by the COVAX Facility. The president had not been seen in public since February 27, and several media reports said he was taken abroad for treatment first in Kenya and later India. 

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa last week on Friday blamed the narrative of the president's ailment on some "hateful" Tanzanians living abroad.
 
Tundu Lissu, Magufuli's main rival in the October election when the president won a second five-year term, had suggested Tanzania's leader had been flown to Kenya for treatment for COVID-19 and then moved to India in a coma.
 
After the death was announced, opposition leader Zitto Kabwe said he had spoken to Vice President Hassan to offer condolences for Magufuli's death.

"The nation will remember him for his contribution to the development of our country," Kabwe said in a statement published on Twitter.
 
According to Tanzania's Constitution, Vice President Hassan, 61, should assume the presidency for the remainder of the five-year term that Magufuli began serving last year after winning a second term. She would be the East African nation's first female president.
 
Born in the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, Hassan studied economics in Britain, worked for the U.N.'s World Food Programme and then held various government posts prior to becoming Tanzania's first female vice president in 2015.
 
Hassan said Magufuli was admitted on March 6 to Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute for heart problems and discharged the next day. A week later he felt bad and was rushed to Mzena hospital where he was getting treatment under supervision of doctors from the cardiac institute.
 
'The Bulldozer'
 
Nicknamed "The Bulldozer" because of his reputation for pushing through policies despite opposition, Magufuli frustrated the World Health Organization (WHO) during the pandemic by playing down the threat from COVID-19, saying god and remedies such as steam inhalation would protect Tanzanians.
 
The former chemistry teacher had mocked coronavirus tests, denounced vaccines as part of a Western conspiracy to take Africa's wealth, and opposed mask-wearing and social distancing.
 
Tanzania stopped reporting coronavirus data in May last year when it had reported 509 cases and 21 deaths, according to the WHO, which has urged the government to be more transparent.
 
He was re-elected for a second term in 2020, winning 84% of the vote in an election the opposition said was marred by irregularities and whose results it rejected.