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Magufuli, popularly nicknamed the ‘Bulldozer’, had been absent from public view for nearly three weeks, fueling rumors about his poor health, with opposition leaders claiming that he had contracted the virus.
FILE: Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli. Image: AFP.
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania – Tanzanian President John Magufuli died Wednesday at age 61 of a heart condition, his vice president said, after more than five years of divisive and authoritarian rule crowned by his refusal to take the Covid-19.
Magufuli, popularly nicknamed the “Bulldozer”, had been absent from public view for nearly three weeks, fueling rumors about his poor health, and opposition leaders claimed he had contracted the virus.
“I deeply regret to inform you that today, March 17, 2021 at 6:00 pm, we lost our brave leader, the President of the Republic of Tanzania, John Pombe Magufuli,” said Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan. .
He said Magufuli had died of a “heart condition” known as chronic atrial fibrillation characterized by an abnormal heartbeat, which he had suffered for a decade, in a Dar es Salaam hospital.
He had first been briefly admitted to the Jakaya Kikwete Heart Institute on March 6, but was subsequently discharged, Hassan said.
But Magufuli had felt bad again and on March 14 he was rushed to the hospital, this time to the Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Dar es Salaam.
Hassan announced a 14-day mourning period.
Magufuli last appeared in public on February 27, and the fervent Catholic had missed three Sunday services, raising concern.
Opposition leader Tundu Lissu cited sources saying that the president had contracted COVID-19, exacerbating his existing health conditions, which could not be independently verified.
Meanwhile, demands for information about his whereabouts grew and rumors spread that Magufuli was seeking treatment outside the country.
Supporters of the president mourned his death and the uncertain political path ahead.
“It saddens me personally. I lost hope because I trusted him as my leader, he was a leader of the poor and now we wonder how things will be now that our leader has died,” said the 24-year-old. Lewis, in Dar es Salaam.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that he was “sorry to learn” of Magufuli’s death.
Meanwhile, the US State Department expressed its condolences, adding: “We hope that Tanzania can move forward on a democratic and prosperous path.”
ANTI-CORRUPTION CRUSADER
Magufuli was first elected in 2015 as a man of the people who fights corruption, making him love for a population tired of corruption scandals.
However, a slide towards authoritarianism, which saw a crackdown from the media, civil society and the opposition, raised alarm among foreign allies and rights groups.
His re-election last October was dismissed by the opposition and some diplomats as a sham, for alleged fraud, the blocking of foreign media and observer teams and an oppressive military presence.
Analysts said Magufuli had dealt a crushing blow to democracy in one of Africa’s most stable nations.
However, it also won praise for expanding free education, rural electrification, and investment in infrastructure projects like railways, a hydroelectric dam to double electricity production, and the revival of the national airline.
His government passed a series of laws to increase Tanzania’s share of its mineral resources and demanded millions in back taxes from foreign mining companies.
But it was Magufuli’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic that highlighted his leadership style.
He was one of the few world leaders, along with former US President Donald Trump and Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro, who mocked the virus and defended alternative medicines.
Magufuli asked for prayer instead of masks, before stopping the release of statistics in April 2020 when the country had recorded a total of 509 cases and 16 deaths.
Tanzania became an outlier in a region that quickly implemented closures, night curfews and travel restrictions to stop infections.
In May last year, he revealed that he had sent a variety of fruits and animals to be tested for the virus and that a papaya, a quail and a goat tested positive, proving “sabotage” at the national laboratory.
‘THERE IS NO COVID-19’
Magufuli later claimed that prayer had saved the country from COVID-19.
“That is why we do not wear face masks here. Do you think we are not afraid of dying? It is because there is no COVID-19,” he said.
However, in February, when the disease spiked and it was revealed that Zanzibar’s semi-autonomous vice president had died of COVID-19, Magufuli admitted that the virus did exist.
However, he warned his health ministry not to rush to purchase vaccines, saying they are “dangerous.”
Under Tanzania’s constitution, Hassan will become the country’s first female president and will consult with the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party on the appointment of a new vice president.
Magufuli’s death plunges Tanzania into political uncertainty, according to Nic Cheeseman, a professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham.
“The news of Magufuli’s death will fundamentally change the politics of Tanzania. Having dominated the political scene since his election, it leaves a kind of political vacuum,” Cheeseman said.
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