Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli has been confirmed dead by his Vice President this Wednesday. Many believe that Africa has lost one of its faithful fighters against western oppression. Once nicknamed “the bulldozer” of Tanzania, John Magufuli has died following weeks of speculation that he was infected with COVID-19. Many will recall him for his aggressive treatment of the pandemic in Tanzania. Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli has died at 61. Since the WHO declared coronavirus a pandemic in March 2020, Magufuli had downplayed the virus’s severity. At one time, he mocked the country’s coronavirus research laboratories, claiming that he had secretly tested papaya and a goat for COVID-19 and found positive results. While he never gave evidence to back up his point, he cautioned that the findings show people were receiving false-positive results.
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli Dead After Minimizing COVID-19 Pandemic
Tanzania soon started posting updates on the number of people affected and those killed by COVID-19. The country’s most recent coronavirus figures were released in May 2020. Five hundred and nine individuals were reported to have contracted the virus, and 29 had died. Though neighboring Kenya and Uganda implemented lockdowns and curfews to combat the spread of COVID-19, Tanzanian President Magufuli surprised many by announcing that the country would stay open for business.
“We Tanzanians have not locked ourselves down, and I don’t expect to announce even a single day that we are implementing a lockdown because our God is still alive, and he will continue protecting us Tanzanians,” the late president once told a crowd. “But we shall also continue taking precautions, including steaming. You steam, pray to God, and go on with your daily activities so that you eat well and your body builds immunity against the coronavirus.”
Following the death of Zanzibar’s first Vice President, Seif Sharif Hamad, from the virus in February, Magufuli later admitted that there is high risk of contracting the lethal pathogen. Tanzania’s Health Ministry later released guidelines advising people to follow COVID preventive protocols.
When the West sent the COVID-19 vaccine to Africa, Magufuli denied his citizens the opportunity to get the vaccine. He claimed that the vaccine might be an experiment on Africans as guinea pigs. He added that if truly the western countries have made the COVID-19 vaccine, and it was genuine, why have they not made the HIV/AIDS vaccine or for cancer and all the severe diseases?
Former Tanzania’s President, John Pombe Magufuli’s Short Biography
Magufuli, born on October 29, 1959, got his master’s and doctorate degrees in 1994 and 2009, respectively, from the University of Dar es Salaam. Magufuli entered politics as a member of the dominant Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) faction after briefly teaching at Sengerema Secondary School and then serving as an industrial chemist. He was voted to the legislature in 1995 and appointed deputy minister of works the following year, gaining the title of a minister in 2000. He came to prominence in 2010 after being designated Tanzania’s minister of labor and transportation for the second time. His bold leadership style and battle against corruption in the road-building industry was alluring for Tanzanians, who later nicknamed him “the bulldozer.”
In 2015, he stood for president and received 58 percent of the vote, beating Edward Lowassa of the Chadema opposition party. He was re-elected in a referendum in 2020, a victory that opposition presidential nominee Tundu Lissu called bogus. Magufuli praised the country’s democratic process in his inaugural speech.
“Elections have been a source of conflict in many countries, but we Tanzanians have safely passed this test. This is proof to the world that Tanzanians are peace-loving, and we have matured in our democracy.”
President Magufuli: Western World’s Dread Was Tanzania’s Knight in Shining Armour
President Magufuli was a well-liked character in Tanzania. People admired him for his lean administration and cost-cutting efforts. In 2015, for instance, he canceled the country’s independence festivities instead of asking people to clean up their neighborhoods to combat a cholera epidemic. He also started big infrastructure ventures, including Bagamoyo, a new railway, and upgrading the Dar-es-Salaam International Airport. The world applauded his hands-on war against corruption, which was admired not only in Tanzania — but also in Africa.
“Magufuli came in on the platform of fighting corruption and empowering the masses,” Martin Adati, a Kenyan political analyst, once stated: “It is only the people who have been benefiting from corruption who are not thrilled with him.”
However, his reputation at home was compromised by human rights activists who accused him of violating basic rights, including freedom of the press and speech. His government passed laws in 2020, making it a punishable offense for local media to post foreign material without permission. Despite his successes, Magufuli’s presidency was rife with autocratic impulses, according to exiled opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
“Yes, he has built all these things, but that does not justify misrule or the Draconian and extreme authoritarian policies that he has imposed on the country,” said Lissu, adding that the late president’s actions did not legitimize the destruction of the country’s democratic processes.
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