Tanzanian President, John Magufuli Passed Away

President of Tanzania John Magufuli during a visit to India. (Wikimedia Commons / Tanzania Prime Minister's Office, Government of India)

JAKARTA - Tanzanian President John Magufuli, one of Africa's most prominent coronavirus skeptics, has died at the age of 61, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Wednesday after more than two weeks of absence from public life which led to speculation about his health.

Hassan said Magufuli died of a heart disease that has plagued him for a decade. He said burial arrangements were being carried out and announced 14 days of mourning and flag-raising on half the staff. State television broadcast sad and religious songs.

Magufuli, who had not seen in public since February 27, sparked rumors that he was exposed to COVID-19. Officials denied on March 12 that he had fallen ill. He was the first president of Tanzania to die while still in his tenure.

“Dear Tanzanians, it is very sad to announce that today is March 17, 2021, at around 6 p.m. We lost our brave leader, President John Magufuli, who died of heart disease at the Mzena hospital in Dar es Salaam where he is receiving treatment", the vice president on state television station TBC said.

Hassan said Magufuli was admitted to the Jakaya Kikwete Heart Institute on March 6 for heart problems and was discharged the next day. A week later, he felt unwell and was rushed to the Mzena hospital, where he was treated under the supervision of doctors from the heart institute.

Nicknamed 'The Bulldozer' because of his reputation for pushing policies despite opposition, Magufuli frustrated the World Health Organization (WHO) during the pandemic by downplaying the threat from COVID-19. He said God and a solution like inhaling the steam would protect Tanzanians.

Separately, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Friday, he had spoken to Magufuli and blamed the president's disease narrative on some hateful Tanzanians living abroad.

According to the Tanzanian Constitution, Vice President Hassan, 61, must take over the presidency for the remainder of the five-year term that Magufuli began serving last year, after winning a second term. She will become the East African nation's first female president.