 Magufuli in 2016 | |
| Date | 17–26 March 2021 |
|---|---|
| Venue |
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John Magufuli, the 5th President of Tanzania, died on 17 March 2021 following a prolonged illness. He was the first Tanzanian president to die in office. Prior to his death, rumours speculated that he had contracted COVID-19 following months of denial during the ongoing pandemic.
Magufuli was first elected president in the 2015 general election. He was re-elected in 2020, amid accusations of electoral fraud from the opposition. [1] [2]
Magufuli promoted COVID-19 misinformation and misinformation related to vaccination during the pandemic in Tanzania. [3] [4] Magufuli spoke against the possibility of closing churches, stating: "That's where there is true healing. Corona is the devil and it cannot survive in the body of Jesus," reported The Economist in March 2020. [5]
By May 2020, Magufuli and Dar es Salaam regional commissioner Paul Makonda announced that the disease had been defeated by national prayer, and called for a public celebration. [6] "The corona disease has been eliminated thanks to God", Magufuli told the church congregation in Dodoma, the country's capital. The World Health Organization (WHO) has questioned the government's approach to COVID-19. [7]
Magufuli said in a January 2021 speech: "Vaccinations are dangerous. If white people were able to come up with vaccinations, a vaccination for AIDS would have been found." [8] Instead, Magufuli urged steam inhalation and herbal medicine, neither of which is approved by the WHO for the treatment of COVID-19. [9] However, Magufuli partially changed his position in the next month. After months of discouraging their use, he publicly asked Tanzanians to put on face masks as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. At the same time, he conditioned that only Tanzanian-made masks should be used. [10] [11] [12]Magufuli had not been seen in public since 27 February 2021 and rumours swirled online that he was sick and possibly incapacitated from illness. [13] A Kenyan newspaper reported on 10 March 2021 that "an African leader" was being treated for COVID-19 at a hospital in Nairobi, leading to speculation that it could be President Magufuli. [14] Opposition politician Tundu Lissu, citing unnamed sources but without providing evidence, said it was Magufuli who was hospitalised, having contracted COVID-19. [15] [14] He further claimed that there were plans to move Magufuli to India. [14] Lissu later claimed that Magufuli had died by 10 March. [16]
By 15 March, four people were arrested by police on suspicion of spreading rumours on Magufuli's health via social media. [17]
On the night of 17 March 2021, vice-president Samia Suluhu Hassan announced Magufuli had died at 6 p.m. EAT (15:00 UTC) at Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Dar es Salaam, where he was receiving treatment. [13] [18] [19] She did not specify Magufuli's underlying illness but said that he had suffered from chronic atrial fibrillation for more than a decade. She announced 14 days of national mourning and said that flags would fly at half-staff nationwide. [20] Despite Suluhu's focus on Magufuli's heart problems, speculation continued that he had died from COVID-19. [21] [22]
Suluhu was sworn in as the 6th President of Tanzania on 19 March 2021, becoming its first female president. [23] Within four months of taking office, she formed a COVID-19 advisory committee and took steps to initiate a vaccination campaign in the country. [24] [25] She was expected to serve out the remainder of Magufuli's five-year term. [26]
Magufuli's body lay in state at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam on 20 March 2021. [27] The next day, mourners hoping to view his body crowded into the stadium, many climbing a wall, which collapsed, resulting in a human stampede that left at least forty-five people dead. [28] [29]
Magufuli's state funeral took place on 22 March 2021, at the Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma. [30] [31] It was attended by presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, Edgar Lungu of Zambia, Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, Azali Assoumani of the Comoros and Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who delivered eulogies at the funeral. [32] [30] [33] [31] Rwandan prime minister Édouard Ngirente also attended, on behalf of president Paul Kagame. [34] Many Tanzanian attendees and politicians did not wear face masks at the service. [35]
Magufuli was buried in his hometown of Chato on 26 March 2021. [36]
A secretary of Magufuli's Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, Humphrey Polepole, paid homage to him in a tweet, saying that he "fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith". The leader of the Alliance for Change and Transparency party, Zitto Kabwe, described his death as a situation "that will move us all in very personal ways", and offered his "deepest condolences to Janet Magufuli and the whole family of John Pombe Magufuli". Former prime minister Frederick Sumaye also paid tribute. [37] [38] [39]
Meanwhile, activist Fatma Karume criticised Magufuli's legacy on Twitter, writing that she was "grateful and proud that I kept my HUMANITY even when evil was the order of the day. Thank you to all who made these 5 years bearable." [37]
Foreign leaders and luminaries expressed their condolences, including Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, [40] [41] President of Burundi Évariste Ndayishimiye, [41] President of Togo Faure Gnassingbé, [42] Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, [43] [44] [45] Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping and King Mohammed VI of Morocco. [46] [47] Also paying tribute were former President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan, Ugandan opposition politician Bobi Wine and Venezuelan minister of foreign affairs Jorge Arreaza. [48] [44] [49] [38]
A statement from the United States Department of State said the country remained "committed to continuing to support Tanzanians as they advocate for respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and work to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope that Tanzania can move forward on a democratic and prosperous path". [50] Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said she was "profoundly saddened" to hear of Magufuli's death. [51] The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, hailed the president as "a champion of regional cooperation in the East African region and a committed Pan Africanist leader". [41]
Outside of Tanzania, a total of nine countries declared a period of national mourning following his death. [52]
| Country | Duration |
|---|---|
| Uganda | 14 days |
| Rwanda | 9 days |
| Kenya | 7 days |
| Burundi | |
| Mozambique | 5 days |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3 days |
| South Sudan | |
| Cuba | 1 day |
| Zambia |
The president of the United Republic of Tanzania is the head of state and head of government of Tanzania.
Chato is a town in Geita Region of northwestern Tanzania, and a port on the southern end of Lake Victoria. It is the administrative centre for Chato District.
The Chama Cha Mapinduzi is the dominant ruling party in Tanzania and the second longest-ruling party in Africa, only after the True Whig Party of Liberia. It was formed in 1977, following the merger of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), which were the sole operating parties in mainland Tanzania and the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar, respectively.
Samia Suluhu Hassan is a Tanzanian politician who has been serving as president of Tanzania since 19 March 2021. She is the first woman to serve in the position. She previously served as vice-president of Tanzania from 2015 to 2021, from which she ascended to the presidency following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli.
John Pombe Joseph Magufuli was the fifth president of Tanzania, serving from 2015 until his death in 2021. He served as Minister of Works, Transport and Communications from 2000 to 2005 and 2010 to 2015 and was chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2019 to 2020.
Damas Daniel Ndumbaro is a Tanzanian politician, lawyer and cabinet Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba is a Tanzanian economist and CCM politician, who serves as the elected Member of Parliament for Iramba West Constituency since 2010. On 31 March 2021, President Samia Suluhu appointed him as the Minister of Finance, replacing Philip Mpango, who was elevated to the position of Vice President of Tanzania. Before his current appointment, he served as the Minister of Law and Constitutional Affairs in the Tanzanian Cabinet, since May 2020.
The Magufuli Cabinet was formed by President of Tanzania John Magufuli after taking the oath of office on 5 November 2015. Magufuli won the 2015 general election with 58% of the vote in a tightly contested race against ex-CCM Chadema rival Edward Lowassa. After being sworn in on 5 November 2015, Magufuli announced his cabinet almost a month later, on 10 December 2015. He reduced the cabinet to 19 ministers from 30 in the previous cabinet. The Second Cabinet's tenure was cut short on 19 March 2021, following the death of President John Magufuli, and the swearing-in of Samia Suluhu Hassan as the new president.
Philip Isdor Mpango is a Tanzanian economist and politician who serves as the Vice-President of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Doto Mashaka Biteko is a Tanzanian politician and a member of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi political party. He was elected MP representing Bukombe in 2015.
Innocent Lugha Bashungwa is a Tanzanian politician who has served as the Minister of Works in Tanzania since 2023. He previously served as Minister of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Minister of Defence and a Minister of State in the President's Office in Tanzania and is a member of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi political party. He was elected MP representing Karagwe in 2015.
Venance Salvatory Mabeyo, also known as Vicent Mabeyo, is a retired Tanzanian military officer who served as the eighth Defense Forces Chief to lead the Tanzania People's Defense Force (TPDF). He was appointed by President John Magufuli on 6 February 2017. After Magufuli's death in March 2021, Mabeyo played a major role in ensuring a smooth transition of power to the new President, Samia Suluhu Hassan. He retired from the TPDF in June 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Tanzania in March 2020.
Events of 2020 in Tanzania.
Events of 2021 in Tanzania.
The Suluhu Cabinet was officially formed in Tanzania on 31 March 2021. Following the death of former president John Magufuli, Samia Suluhu Hassan the Vice President in the previous cabinet was sworn in as the new president. Within two weeks of her assignment, she appointed a new vice president and reshuffled the previous cabinet.
Dorothy Onesphoro Gwajima also known Gwajima Dorothy is a Tanzanian CCM politician and a nominated cabinet member since 2020. She was appointed by President John Magufuli into the Magufuli cabinet as the Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children. She continued in this role following the death of John Magufuli, however, in January 2022 the ministry was split and she became the new Minister of Community Development and Gender.
Events of 2023 in Tanzania.
flood the streets this weekend to celebrate. 'Make all kinds of noise as a sign of thanksgiving to show our God has won against disease and worries of death that were making us suffer.'
Prince Philip and I were saddened to learn of the death of President John Magufuli. I wish to convey my condolences to his loved ones and my deepest sympathy to the people of Tanzania.
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