John Magufuli in Pretoria in 2019
Photographer: Michele Spatari / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Michele Spatari / AFP / Getty Images
Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who has been widely criticized for his denial of the coronavirus pandemic, died just five months after winning a second term in a controversial election. He was 61.
“We have lost our courageous leader, President John Magufuli, who died of a heart attack,” Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on state television on Wednesday. She announced 14 days of national mourning.
Nicknamed ‘The Bulldozer’ for his aggressive leadership style, Magufuli received early praise for tackling corruption, wasting government spending and improving the lives of farmers by giving up dozens of taxes. He has also spearheaded the development of new transport links, power stations and more than 1,700 health centers, investments that have helped make Tanzania’s economy one of the world’s top performers.
Magufuli has also undergone controversial reforms aimed at ensuring that the country benefits more from its natural resources, which has put its government on a collision course with foreign mining companies. In 2017, authorities asked Barrick Gold Corp’s local unit to pay a whopping $ 190 billion in tax bill – a dispute the company settled by paying $ 300 million and setting up a mining joint venture with the state. create.
Magufuli became increasingly authoritarian as his first term progressed – he centralized power in the presidency and cracked down on inequality against opposition and media freedom. He achieved a second term of five years in October when he obtained 84% of the vote, the largest margin of victory of any presidential candidate in nearly three decades of multi-party elections in Tanzania.
The opposition dismissed the result as clumsy and the US embassy in Tanzania said reliable allegations of fraud and intimidation, as well as the ruling party’s overwhelming victory, raised questions about the fairness of the election. Several opposition candidates are unable to stand and the government has shut down internet and social media sites that have hampered opponents’ campaigns.
Magufuli, born on October 29, 1959, in the northwestern city of Chato, worked as a teacher and industrial chemist before embarking on politics. He won parliamentary elections in 1995 and held several cabinet posts before the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party selected him as a candidate to succeed President Jakaya Kikwete in 2015.
International consternation with Magufuli’s rule has focused on his unorthodox approach to tackling Covid-19. He maintained that the country was disease-free, discouraged the use of face masks and advised his people to pray and undergo steam therapy to protect their health. While most of the rest of the world is trying to access vaccines, its administration has backtracked, saying they are working on developing alternative natural remedies.
Tanzania stopped publishing information on infections in April 2020, making it impossible to determine the severity of the epidemic. The avalanche of patients showing coronavirus symptoms being treated in public hospitals and daily funeral masses suggests that Magufuli has seriously reduced a serious public health crisis.