Hivi kumbe wewe haujui kama Magu alishinda vita ya COVID-19?
Tanzanian Leader Who Downplayed Pandemic Dies
President John Magufuli’s complex legacy is overshadowed by his repeated dismissals of the coronavirus.
MARCH 18, 2021, 4:18 PM
Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who drew international condemnation for dismissing the threat of the coronavirus pandemic and refusing to obtain vaccines for his country, has died at the age of 61, possibly due to complications from the coronavirus.
But he became increasingly authoritarian over time, centralizing the presidency’s powers and cracking down on journalists and political opponents. He died just five months after being reelected for a second term in a vote that independent observers say was marred by allegations of fraud and voter intimidation.
As the coronavirus pandemic swept across the world, Magufuli set himself apart from other African and world leaders by dismissing the severity of the pandemic and refusing to purchase vaccines for his country.
Opposition leaders say that Magufuli
died after contracting the coronavirus, though the Tanzanian government
says he died of a heart attack after being admitted to a Dar es Salaam hospital on March 6.
The president was last spotted on Feb. 27, and his conspicuous absence fueled rumors about his ill health. Until then, the late Tanzanian president was a vehement COVID-19
denier, even as hospitals were inundated and religious leaders sounded alarm bells about the number of funerals they were presiding over. Still, Magufuli’s government
stopped releasing any statistics on COVID-19 in May of last year and then in June declared the country coronavirus-free.
For months, the health ministry failed to implement a response, instead encouraging steaming, traditional remedies, and prayer. When Denmark reported that two of its citizens tested positive for the coronavirus after traveling to Tanzania, Magufuli grudgingly conceded the presence of the virus in his country, but he blamed Tanzanians who traveled abroad for bringing the virus home. He was equally skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines, even as the World Health Organization chastised him.