Tanzanian President John Magufuli dies at 61

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, one of Africa’s most prominent coronavirus sceptics, has died aged 61, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Wednesday.

Hassan said he died from a heart disease that had plagued him for a decade. She said burial arrangements were under way and announced 14 days of mourning and the flying of flags at half-staff.

Magufuli, had not been seen in public since February 27, sparking rumours that he had contracted Covid-19.

Officials denied on March 12 that he had fallen ill and on Monday the Vice President urged Tanzanians not to listen to rumours from outside the country. She said it was normal for a human being to be checked for flu or fever.

“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,” Vice President said on state broadcaster TBC.

He was Tanzania’s first President to die while in office.

61-year-old Vice President Hassan would be first female President, according to Tanzania’s Constitution, 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.

About Magufuli
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.

Edited by Olajumoke Adeleke