NAIROBI, Kenya – President John Magufuli of Tanzania, a populist leader who downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and drove his country away from democratic ideals, passed away on Wednesday in a hospital in the port city of Dar es Salaam. He was 61.
His death was announced on television by Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who said that Mr. Magufuli died of heart complications while being treated at Mzena Hospital. The announcement follows more than a week of intense speculation that Mr. Magufuli was critically ill with Covid-19 – reports that senior government officials have repeatedly denied.
Me. Hassan did not address the nature of Mr.’s underlying illness. Magufuli did not elaborate in her brief calls on television, but said he had been suffering from chronic atrial fibrillation for more than a decade. She said flags would be flown nationwide against half-staff and that funeral arrangements were underway.
Mr. Magufuli, a trained chemist, was first elected on an anti-corruption platform in October 2015. He was initially praised for his efforts to strengthen the economy, curb wasteful spending and upgrade Tanzania’s infrastructure.
But the leader, popularly called ‘the bulldozer’, is soon accused of muzzling discord, driving back freedom of expression and association, and enforcing laws that exacerbate his party’s grip on the power of the revolution.
It was a sharp departure from his two immediate predecessors who promoted the East African nation as a peaceful, business-friendly democracy.
During his first term, Mr. Magufuli’s government banned the opposition, revoked the licenses of non-governmental organizations and introduced laws that, according to critics, suppressed independent reporting. He also said that pregnant girls may not be admitted to school.
Rights groups have accused his government of failing to carry out credible investigations into the killings, kidnappings and prosecutions of journalists who have criticized the government and opposition.
Since Mr. Magufuli elected a second term last autumn, authorities made it harder for opposition parties to fight, froze civil society bank accounts, denied the accreditation of election observers and journalists and refused to allow opposition representatives to the polls.
On polling day, at least 10 people were killed when violence broke out in the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar after citizens said they saw soldiers delivering marked ballots.
Mr. Magufuli won the election with 84 percent of the vote amid accusations of widespread fraud and irregularities. Tundu Lissu, the biggest opposition candidate running against him, is accused of trying to overthrow the government and leave the country. He remains in exile in Belgium.
In the past year, Mr. Magufuli has been widely criticized at home and abroad for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He campaigned against masks and social removal, promoting unproven drugs as drugs and saying that God had helped the country eliminate the virus.
Tanzania has not shared more information about the coronavirus with the World Health Organization since April, and only 509 cases and 21 deaths have been reported, which is widely viewed with skepticism.
When the introduction of vaccines began worldwide, Mr. Magufuli discourages health ministry from securing doses for Tanzania.
“Vaccines do not work,” he claimed in a speech to an unmasked crowd at the end of January. ‘If the white man had been able to come up with vaccinations, AIDS vaccines would have been brought. Vaccinations for tuberculosis would be a thing of the past. Vaccines for malaria would be found. Vaccines for cancer would be found. ”
Such statements have caused condemnation by the World Health Organization as well as the Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania. Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, called on the Tanzanian government to prepare the infrastructure to distribute the doses, write on Twitter, “Science shows that #VaccinesWork.”
In February, the US embassy in Tanzania warned of “a significant increase in the number of Covid-19 cases” and warned that “limited hospital capacity in Tanzania could cause life-threatening delays for emergency medical care. ‘
The death of mr. Magufuli came a few days after speculation that he was ill with the virus. Rumors began to circulate after Lissu, the opposition figure in exile, said that President had Covid-19 and was being treated in a hospital in neighboring Kenya.
Mr. Lissu has asked the authorities to disclose the whereabouts of the president, who has not been seen in public for almost two weeks. Mr. Magufuli did not attend a virtual summit for leaders of the East African regional bloc on 27 February.
Tanzanian officials denied the rumors, saying Magufuli was working as usual.
John Pombe Joseph Magufuli was born on October 29, 1959, in the district of Chato in northwestern Tanzania. According to the presidential office’s website, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Dar es Salaam. According to the website, he obtained a doctorate in chemistry at the same university in 2009.
Before becoming president, he was a member of parliament in Tanzania and held a number of cabinet posts. He first developed a reputation for fighting corruption when he worked in cabinet positions, including as Minister of Lands, Fisheries and Public Works.
Mr. Magufuli is survived by his wife, Janet, a primary school teacher; and two children.