Tanzania Presidents Death
A man reads a copy of the Daily Nation morning newspaper reporting the death of neighboring Tanzania's President John Magufuli on a street in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, March 18, 2021. Magufuli, a prominent COVID-19 skeptic whose populist rule often cast his country in a harsh international spotlight, died Wednesday aged 61 of heart failure, it was announced by Vice President Samia Suluhu. Headline in Swahili reads "Goodbye Magufuli." AP Photo/Khalil Senosi
TOM ODULA
Thu, March 18, 2021
NAKURU, Kenya (AP) — News of the death of Tanzania's President John Magufuli drew mixed reactions; sorrow from many but bitterness from a critic who said he suffered during the president's rule which he said shrank the country's democratic space.
Magufuli, one of Africa's most prominent COVID-19 skeptics died of heart failure, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced Wednesday night on national television. Hassan is expected to be sworn in to succeed Magufuli and complete his second five-year term which he had just started after winning elections late last year. She will be Tanzania's first female head of state.
As tributes come in from other African heads of state, Tanzania's opposition leader has been outspoken in his criticism of Magufuli.
“It's poetic justice," opposition leader Tundu Lissu said Thursday of Magufuli's death, alleging that he succumbed to COVID-19.
“President Magufuli defied the world on the struggle against COVID-19. He defied the East African community, he defied all our neighbors. He defied science. He refused to take the basic precautions that people all over the world are being told to take in the fight against COVID-19,” said Lissu, on the Kenya Television Network.
“He did not wear a face mask. He actually denigrated anyone who wore a face mask. He did not believe in vaccines. He did not believe in science. He placed his faith in faith healers and herbal concoctions of dubious medical value.” said Lissu. "And what has happened? He went down with COVID-19. And now they are telling us he had heart disease. It is Corona.”
Lissu, who spoke from exile in Belgium, recalled that in Sept. 2017 Magufuli said those who were opposed to his economic reforms deserved to die. Shortly after that Lissu was shot 16 times and he left the country for Belgium.
Lissu returned to Tanzania to challenge Magufuli in the Oct. 2020 elections. He lost to Magufuli in elections marred by violence and widespread allegations of vote-rigging. Government security forces blocked thousands of opposition monitors from observing the polls. Lissu returned to Belgium after criticizing the elections, saying that he was not safe.
Lissu said news of Magufuli’s death did not surprise him as he had received "credible information" since March 7 that the president was gravely ill.
“What surprises me is that his regime continues to lie of the cause of his death and the time he died,” he said.
He said the informed sources who had told him of Magufuli's illness also told him that the president had been dead since March 10.
Magufuli had been missing from public view since Feb 27, when he swore in a new chief secretary after his predecessor died with what many speculate was COVID-19.
For days government officials denied he was ill claiming he was busy and the president is not duty-bound to make public appearances.
"This is the time to open a new chapter in Tanzania, Lissu said, ”Magufuli in the five years he was president caused havoc to our country. There are so many people who have been killed in the five years. There are many people who have been injured, tortured, persecuted. I barely escaped with my life."
“He is dead and this is an opportunity, a rare opportunity, for our country to come together for national reconciliation,” he said.
Fellow African leaders have begun praising Magufuli's leadership.
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is also the chairman of the East African Community, announced Kenya will observe seven days of national mourning in which the country's flag will be flown at half-mast.
“In the passing on of President Magufuli, I have lost a friend, a colleague, and a visionary ally whom I worked with closely, particularly on our commitment to forge lasting bonds between Kenya and Tanzania,” Kenyatta said in a live broadcast Thursday.
TOM ODULA
Thu, March 18, 2021
NAKURU, Kenya (AP) — News of the death of Tanzania's President John Magufuli drew mixed reactions; sorrow from many but bitterness from a critic who said he suffered during the president's rule which he said shrank the country's democratic space.
Magufuli, one of Africa's most prominent COVID-19 skeptics died of heart failure, Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced Wednesday night on national television. Hassan is expected to be sworn in to succeed Magufuli and complete his second five-year term which he had just started after winning elections late last year. She will be Tanzania's first female head of state.
As tributes come in from other African heads of state, Tanzania's opposition leader has been outspoken in his criticism of Magufuli.
“It's poetic justice," opposition leader Tundu Lissu said Thursday of Magufuli's death, alleging that he succumbed to COVID-19.
“President Magufuli defied the world on the struggle against COVID-19. He defied the East African community, he defied all our neighbors. He defied science. He refused to take the basic precautions that people all over the world are being told to take in the fight against COVID-19,” said Lissu, on the Kenya Television Network.
“He did not wear a face mask. He actually denigrated anyone who wore a face mask. He did not believe in vaccines. He did not believe in science. He placed his faith in faith healers and herbal concoctions of dubious medical value.” said Lissu. "And what has happened? He went down with COVID-19. And now they are telling us he had heart disease. It is Corona.”
Lissu, who spoke from exile in Belgium, recalled that in Sept. 2017 Magufuli said those who were opposed to his economic reforms deserved to die. Shortly after that Lissu was shot 16 times and he left the country for Belgium.
Lissu returned to Tanzania to challenge Magufuli in the Oct. 2020 elections. He lost to Magufuli in elections marred by violence and widespread allegations of vote-rigging. Government security forces blocked thousands of opposition monitors from observing the polls. Lissu returned to Belgium after criticizing the elections, saying that he was not safe.
Lissu said news of Magufuli’s death did not surprise him as he had received "credible information" since March 7 that the president was gravely ill.
“What surprises me is that his regime continues to lie of the cause of his death and the time he died,” he said.
He said the informed sources who had told him of Magufuli's illness also told him that the president had been dead since March 10.
Magufuli had been missing from public view since Feb 27, when he swore in a new chief secretary after his predecessor died with what many speculate was COVID-19.
For days government officials denied he was ill claiming he was busy and the president is not duty-bound to make public appearances.
"This is the time to open a new chapter in Tanzania, Lissu said, ”Magufuli in the five years he was president caused havoc to our country. There are so many people who have been killed in the five years. There are many people who have been injured, tortured, persecuted. I barely escaped with my life."
“He is dead and this is an opportunity, a rare opportunity, for our country to come together for national reconciliation,” he said.
Fellow African leaders have begun praising Magufuli's leadership.
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is also the chairman of the East African Community, announced Kenya will observe seven days of national mourning in which the country's flag will be flown at half-mast.
“In the passing on of President Magufuli, I have lost a friend, a colleague, and a visionary ally whom I worked with closely, particularly on our commitment to forge lasting bonds between Kenya and Tanzania,” Kenyatta said in a live broadcast Thursday.
In Tanzania, eyes turn to succession after president's death
FILE PHOTO: Tanzania's President elect Magufuli addresses members of the ruling CCM at the party's sub-head office on Lumumba road in Dar es Salaam
Thu, March 18, 2021
(Reuters) - Tanzania's leadership faced calls for a smooth succession on Thursday after President John Magufuli, Africa's most vehement coronavirus sceptic, died following an 18-day absence from public life that drew speculation about his health.
An opposition leader urged the immediate swearing in of Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan as successor, saying that would avoid a constitutional vacuum and prevent uncertainty.
But by 2 p.m. local time (1100 GMT), more than 15 hours after Hassan announced Magufuli's death in an address to the nation, there was no official word on plans for her swearing in.
The vice president will address the nation on Friday some time after 9:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) on burial arrangements for Magufuli, government spokesman Hassan Abbasi said on state TV on Thursday evening.
The ruling CCM party called for calm and said there would be a special meeting of its central committee on Saturday.
Magufuli's death, the first of a Tanzanian leader while in office, opens the prospect that the country will gain its first female president.
The constitution says Hassan, 61, should assume the presidency for the remainder of the five-year term that Magufuli began serving last year after winning a second term.
It also states that after consultation with their party, the new president will propose a deputy, the choice to be confirmed by the votes of no less than 50% of the National Assembly.
Speaking on state television late on Wednesday, Hassan said Magufuli, 61, had died from the heart disease that had plagued him for a decade. She said burial arrangements were under way but did not indicate when she would be sworn in.
Abbasi, the government spokesman did not respond to calls and texts seeking comment on succession plans.
Magufuli had not been seen in public since Feb. 27, sparking rumours he had COVID-19. On March 12, officials denied he had fallen ill and on Monday Hassan had urged Tanzanians not to listen to rumours from outside the country.
As late as Wednesday, she sent 'greetings' from Magufuli in a remarks to an audience in the coastal region of Tanga.
"The VP has to be sworn in immediately," opposition leader Zitto Kabwe told Reuters by phone from Dar es Salaam. "The constitution doesn't allow a vacuum ... I will be concerned if the day passes without her being sworn in."
A source who advises businesses operating in Tanzania said “The next 48 hours are crucial ... There is likely to be uncertainty. Some people will want to purge some Magufuli hardliners, but given how he restructured the intelligence services, that is easier said than done.”
OPPOSITION
Nicknamed "The Bulldozer" because of his reputation for pushing through policies despite opposition, Magufuli drew international criticism for his unorthodox and increasingly authoritarian tactics.
Citing Magufuli's opposition to foreign interference and focus on social development, China on Thursday expressed its condolonces over his death, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Canada's Barrick Gold Corp, embroiled for several years of Magufuli's presidency in a tax dispute with the government that was settled last year, said Magufuli saw the value of a thriving mining sector.
The company said the deal it made with his government in which it took stakes in three gold mines, as part of talks related to the tax dispute, should serve as a model for future partnerships between governments and mining companies in Africa.
Thabit Jacob, a Tanzanian scholar at the Roskilde University in Denmark, said there appeared to be a consensus between top political and security figures whom he speaks to about the need for a smooth transition that followed the constitution.
Although Hassan publicly championed Magufuli's leadership style and frequently represented him abroad, she has been more soft spoken and less confrontational than the president.
Magufuli was a vocal COVID-19 sceptic who urged Tanzanians to shun mask-wearing and denounced vaccines as a Western conspiracy, frustrating the World Health Organization.
Some people stood on street corners in the downtown area reading newspapers including a headline blaring "Grief" and wept. As has been the case throughout the pandemic in Tanzania, many people were not wearing face masks.
(Reporting by Nairobi newsroom, Writing by Elias Biryabarema and Maggie Fick, Editing by Lincoln Feast and William Maclean)
Tanzania's 'Bulldozer' president and COVID-19 sceptic dies
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Tanzania's President elect Magufuli salutes members of the ruling CCM at the party's sub-head office on Lumumba road in Dar es Salaam
Wed, March 17, 2021
Tanzania's President John Magufuli, admired by followers for his hostility to corruption and waste but regarded by foes as an irascible authoritarian intolerant of dissent and sceptical about COVID-19, has died aged 61.
He was nicknamed "The Bulldozer" for his fondness for massive public works and a reputation for pushing through policies despite opposition - a hard-charging leadership style that won support from many Tanzanians.
But he also attracted criticism at home and abroad for what opponents saw as his eccentric handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Wednesday he had died of heart illness, days after officials denied he had fallen ill amid rumours that he had contracted COVID-19.
Mangufuli decried lockdowns, was sceptical of COVID-19 drugs and suggested vaccines may be part of a foreign plot to steal Africa's wealth.
"Vaccines are not good. If they were, then the white man would have brought vaccines for HIV/AIDS," he said. "Tanzanians should be careful with these imported things. You should not think that they love you a lot. This nation is rich, Africa is rich, everyone wants some of it."
The government stopped reporting statistics for new cases and deaths in May last year when it had registered 509 cases and 21 deaths. Magufuli had questioned coronavirus testing kits - which he said had returned positive results on a goat and pawpaw fruit. He declared the pandemic over and reopened the economy.
But the death in February of a senior politician from the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar raised concerns about a hidden pandemic running amok in the East African nation.
Magufuli's approach caused alarm at the World Health Organization, prompting its head to implore Tanzania to improve public health measures, prepare to distribute vaccines and start reporting coronavirus cases and sharing data.
QUICK RISE TO INFLUENCE
Born in the village of Chato in the Geita region of northwestern Tanzania, Magufuli was first elected to parliament in 1995 from his home constituency.
A former chemistry teacher, he quickly climbed the political ladder and served in various cabinet roles, including as minister of works, before he won the presidency in 2015.
During his first presidential campaign he captured headlines by doing push-ups at a rally to demonstrate his physical fitness for office. His cost-cutting including cancelling independence day festivities and restricting foreign travel by officials.
He was re-elected for a second term in 2020, winning 84% of the vote in a ballot the opposition said was marred by irregularities and whose results it rejected.
Upon re-election, he promised to build on his agenda of fighting corruption and reducing wasteful public spending, moves which won him praise in his first term.
Magufuli, in no-nonsense style, would make unannounced inspection visits to government departments, and once sacked senior managers at Tanzania's main public hospital, saying they were not delivering. He also purged thousands of "ghost workers" from the government, and reduced his own salary as part of spending cuts. https://reut.rs/2NHdzmc
He was tough on businesses when he thought they were under-paying taxes. In 2017, his government accused gold producer Acacia Mining of evading taxes and under-declaring exports, hitting it with a $190 billion tax bill. https://www.reuters.com/article/acacia-mining-tanzania-idUSL5N1KF5CE
Barrick Gold Corp, which owned the majority of Acacia and eventually bought it out, agreed to pay Tanzania $300 million to settle tax and other disputes.
Critics said Magufuli had presided over a deterioration of the political scene, after his administration arrested opposition leaders, suspended some newspapers and restricted political rallies. The government denies suppressing dissent.
Among those critics is opposition leader Tundu Lissu, shot 16 times by unknown gunmen in the administrative capital Dodoma in September 2017.
He accused the state of trying to kill him, which the government denied. Magufuli condemned the shooting and ordered security forces to investigate, but no one has been arrested. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tanzania-politics-idUSKCN24S15Z
On the economic front, he embarked on ambitious infrastructure projects in the hope of supercharging East Africa's third largest economy.
These included a railway, a hydropower project and the revival of state carrier Air Tanzania, spending billions of dollars in the process.
(Reporting by Nairobi newsroom; editing by William Maclean)
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