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Michele spatari
Tanzanian President John Magufuli died at the age of 61. Magufuli died at a hospital in Dar es Salaam from a “heart condition” that he had suffered for a decade, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Wednesday. Previously, there had been days of speculation about the president’s health. He was last seen in public on February 27.
Crown downplaying the president
Since the 2020 pandemic broke out, Magufuli had downplayed the virus. He even mocked the country’s coronavirus testing stations. He said he had secretly sent samples of papaya and goat and they tested positive.
He never provided any evidence to back up this claim. Soon after, Tanzania stopped publishing information on the number of deaths and corona infections.
Fraud allegations
Magufuli was only re-elected in October in a presidential election overshadowed by allegations of fraud. Since 2015, he has led the state that has long been considered the center of stability in East Africa.
Since Magufuli’s inauguration, observers have complained of increasingly severe levels of repression. The ban on political rallies outside of electoral campaign times dates back to Magufuli.
Strict media laws were also enforced during his tenure. Numerous journalists and critics of the government were arrested and several members of the opposition were assassinated. (AFP / euc)
Published: 03/17/2021, 10:54 pm
