Tanzanian President John Magufuli died at aged 61 of heart failure. Magufuli, nicknamed ‘The Bulldozer,’ was a COVID-19 sceptic. Magufuli was admired by his followers for his hostility to corruption and hard-charging style leadership of pushing through policies despite opposition.
Magufuli was sceptical of COVID-19 medication and said that vaccines might be a 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.
Flags will be flown at half-mast for 14 days on account of Magufuli’s death.
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Rumours were going around that Magufuli had COVID-19 as he had not been seen in public for the last two weeks. Magufuli’s approach towards COVID-19 led to WHO’s head imploring Tanzania to improve public health measures and start reporting coronavirus cases and sharing data. Magufuli, in 2020, had said that the nation eradicated the disease through three days of national prayer.
Magufuli was first elected president in 2015. A former chemistry teacher, Magufuli was re-elected in 2020. He was known to make unannounced inspection visits to government departments.
