Tanzanian Government Announces Death of President after Weeks of Unexplained Absence

In his Tuesday, March 9 tweet, Mr. Lissu posted, “The President’s well-being is a matter of grave public concern. We’re informed when Kikwete had prostate surgery. We’re told when Mkapa went for hip replacement. We’re not kept in the dark when Mwalimu fought leukemia. What’s it with Magufuli that we don’t deserve to know?”

The late President Magufuli, a Catholic, had been criticized for denying and trivializing the threats of COVID-19 in his country. Last June, he declared the East African nation free of coronavirus, crediting this status to the power of prayer. 

Earlier this month, the Secretary General of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), Fr. Charles Kitima called on the people of God in the country to take coronavirus precautions seriously after 25 Priests and 60 Nuns succumbed to COVID-19-related illnesses.

Toward the end of January, Catholic Bishops in Tanzania called for caution amid a new wave of COVID-19 reported in several countries saying the East African nation “is not an island.”

“Our country is not an island,” members of TEC said in their January 26 statement, adding, “We must defend ourselves, take precautions, and cry out to God with all our might so that this scourge will not overtake us.”

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On February 10, the US Embassy in the country reported a surge of COVID-19 cases since January 2021. 

On February 17, Zanzibar’s first Vice President, Seif Hamad died while undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at the Muhimbili Hospital in Dar-es-Salaam. 

The Tanzanian government has not published any reported cases of COVID-19 since May 2020.

Nicknamed ‘The Bulldozer’ for his aggressive leadership style, Magufuli worked as a teacher and industrial chemist before entering politics. He held several Cabinet positions before the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party chose him as its candidate to succeed former President Jakaya Kikwete in 2015.

In 2020, he was re-elected for another term in a vote that the opposition presidential candidate, Mr. Lissu, decried as fraudulent.

Following news of Magufuli’s demise, opposition leader Zitto Kabwe offered condolences to the Tanzanian government.

In a message addressed to Tanzania’s Vice President, Mr. Kabwe said, “The nation will remember him for his contribution to the development of our country.” 

The East African nation is expected to have Vice President, Suluhu, 61, sworn in as President, the country getting its first female Head of State.

The Constitution of Tanzania stipulates, "Where the office of President becomes vacant by reason of death, then the Vice-President shall be sworn in and become the President for the unexpired period of the term of five years."

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.