President Magufuli who denied seriousness of Covid-19 in Tanzania dies

March 17, 2021 Nyasa Times Reporter 59 Comments

Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who drew widespread criticism for his denialism of the coronavirus pandemic, has died aged 61.

Tanzania’s Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced the president’s death in a televised national address on Wednesday.

“We have lost our courageous leader, President John Magufuli, who has died from a heart illness,” said Suluhu Hassa.

She announced 14 days of national mourning.

Magufuli had not been seen in public since February 27, sparking rumours that he had contracted COVID-19. Officials denied on March 12 that he had fallen ill

In her address, Suluhu Hassa said Magufuli died in Mzena hospital, Dar es Salaam where he was getting treatment.

Magufuli nicknamed ‘the Bulldozer’ for his no nonsense altitude

Nicknamed ‘The Bulldozer’ for his aggressive leadership style, Magufuli won early praise for tackling corruption, reducing wasteful government spending and improving the lives of peasant farmers by waiving dozens of taxes.

He also spearheaded the development of new transport links, power plants and more than 1,700 health centers, investments that helped Tanzania’s economy become one of the world’s top performers.

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59 replies on “President Magufuli who denied seriousness of Covid-19 in Tanzania dies”

  2. Uyu wafuna kufa. Heart condition ndi underlying condition and coronavirus is the last straw that breaks the backs of the backs such people. On 9th January 2021 Magufuli thank a visiting Chinese minister Wang Yi for not wearing a mask and went on to say that it was a sign that coronavirus did not exist in Tanzania. We read stories that he was ill early this month and BBC was reporting but did not confirm. Are you surprised that he is dead? We lost two ministers within two hours and some people still do not believe we have a novel disease and are refusing a vaccine. Mukufuna muzunzitse ana ndi umasiye?

  3. Covid Kills! Please get vaccinated to improve your chances of survival when it gets into your lungs.

    1. Please do not get vaccinated for this. Sone vaccines are good, but don’t jump on the bandwagon for this one just yet. Stay healthy, exercise, eat well, sleep well, stay home if you’re seriously ill, and stop believing everything you read or see on national and international news outlets. Most importantly, consider your eternal soul and not just your body. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

    1. NEVER WASTE TIME FEELING SORRY FOR ANYONE THAT DIES OUT OF THERE OWN UTTER STUPIDITY! This fool denied Covid 19/ Corona existance and has succumbed to it after so many people in Tanzania died because of his stupid policy. A very stupid Populist leader not any different from our own Phwisi here that keeps making promises he does not intend to keep. Good riddance, we have a God that hears prayers of the suffering.

    1. I agree let’s not waste our time feeling sorry for such idiots, wasting people’s time, he never allowed his people to follow covid-19 preventative measures, the guy was a big joke

      1. You are the joke. You are drinking the Kool-Aid like a good little sheep. Shame on you. Covid is real, but Everything about it is misreported. Don’t be a fearmongerer.

    1. The guy wapakila coz of Covid-19 in Africa we just love conspiracy theories yet the data is very clear kuti wafa bdi mwano wakewo, people died there and he was busy making fun of the disease, useless president

      1. You are an idiot. People have always been dying everywhere of all kinds of diseases. Covid 19 is no worse than flu viruses in terms of world wide mortality rates. Furthermore, it is an aerosol virus so keeping a 6 foot distance won’t do anything and systemic mask wearing does more harm than good. The president of Tanzania was the only world leader with any sense!

      2. From the reliable sources in the hospital where he was, the guy died of COVID 19. More info. will be revealed after all about his death cools down.

  7. Wadyapo!! Chitsilu cha munthu!! Waphetsa anthu ambiri chifukwa cha makani. Next ambuye, uyunso wathuyu munyamuleni.. mukondetsetseni ndithu.

  9. Much respect to the fallen Hero who proved to be a real performer. African leaders should emulate his style of governance that turned around Tanzania’s economy into reality

      1. Achite emulate zokana kuti kuli Covid-19? Nkhani ili apa is not about what he achieved in terms of development. He was foolish to deny that Coronavirus existed. It has killed him. Heart failure is as result of covid-19.

    2. He dealt with corruption, removed ghost workers and insisted all the best should come from Tanzania. He ensured all his ministers went to local hospitals and not sent abroad. This augered well with him because Tanzania has good resources- mininig resources, fishing, heavy commercial farming, manufacturing etc and as such, their annual budget is healthy. Thus why he defied the West when they rebuked him on COVID funding and his suppression of the freedom media.

  10. MHSRIP. Thanks be to our God who knows a mans heart whilst we appreciate what we see and hear. Our aged world is in a state of departure as we are warned that in the last days there will be pestilences such as COVID though not specified in the bible.Therefore the bottom line is that if your day comes are prepared to face death? The problem with death is that we are not told of our day of departure.Therefore get ready for it and we must know that everyone will one day go even those who claim to know God more than others.

  11. The 14 days of national mourning could have been for national quarantine. A lot of people, including himself and former minister of Zanzibar could’ve been alive and continuing his developmental plans. RIP

  15. This is a lesson to the idiots who are misleading Malawians. Some were busy praising Magufuli about how he handled the pandemic. He stopped co-operating with WHO and stopped sending data. He openly said there was no coronavirus in Tanzania. People died. I am not happy that a leader who was development conscious dies like this. He lived in denial. The thing we have to know about SAR-Covid 2 (the virus) is that it is high contagious. That is how dangerous it is. I am asking the false prophets and others to stop misleading the people. Everyone is responsible for his life and not the prophets and Magufuli type of leaders like Victor Musowa. Rest in Peace Magufuli. You were great but your weakness was stubbornness.

    1. Zoti wafa ndi Covid ndizako. Magufuli has had a heart problem for many years. He was fitted with a gadget in his heart.
      You are just obsessed and brainwshed by what you hear western countries say. Magufuli was a unique president.

      1. I think u are a big fool, his arrogance has cost him life today, he made many people died and they were not helped by his own govt, such stupid leadership must not exist anywhere in Africa where health resources are scarce, lessons learnt

      2. Some of you people are indeed idiots. What does it mean when they say Covid-19 is killing people with underlying conditions. If Magufuli had that heart condition it means Covid-19 accelerated his death. Umbuli sukutherani a Malawi. Brainwashed by western countries. What on earth have you done apart from breeding like dogs and pigs? You are busy crossing the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe. Mumakatani kwa azunguwo?

  16. He has died of stupidity. At least he should have been stupidly clever like Donald Trump: Deny that there is Covid but get vaccinated secretly.

    1. Zoona mbuzi imakana zoti kuli coronavirus. On 9th January 2021 he thanked a Chinese minister for not wearing a mask and said it was a sign that there was no coronavirus in TZ. Ugalu weni weni.

    2. Trump did not deny the existence of Covid, he died the stupidity of shutting the world down over it and he denied the severity of it in comparison to all other sicknesses encountered in the last several decades. His denials were accurate.

  17. But why is covid afraid of attacking Arafat Hamdan Chilima and Bakha Joice Banda? Why is it attacking good people and leaving out criminals? Iwe covid, Kodi chilima sukumuwona???? Pajatu he says we should hug each other and he has never retracted that nosense directive from the public. Covid khwiyaaaa pa chilima. Mwana opusa zedi!!

  18. “The Evil That Men Do Lives After Them; The Good is Oft Interred with their Bones” So let it be with John Pombe Joseph Magufuli.

    His solution to Covid: prayer, fasting, and herb-infused steaming. Once that was done, he proclaimed there was no longer any Covid in Tanzania: so no masks, no social-distancing, no vaccination. Through sheer stupidity and an over-blown sense of know-it-all, he caused hundreds of good people to die needlessly. If every there was a single dude who deserved to die in Tanzania, it was him. Mxii!! Ase!

  20. This is why I said on here to one of the pastors trying to be vocal on vaccines to shut up. What you say always come back to you.
    He was a dictator. Even if he had his own views, he was not a scientist, or doctor. Do we know how many people died because of his reckless thinking in Tanzania? No, because everything was hidden. That’s no difference to North Korea.

  22. Much love and respect to Magufuli. In a short space if time he transformed Tanzania into an economic hub, a regional force to reckon with. His stance on Covid may seem controversial but results on the ground prove that he was right. He did have a history of heart problems, way before Covid reared its ugly head. Rest in peace African giant, you almost gave us our lake back, but alas, Chakwera squandered the opportunity by romanticising the issue.

  26. The courageous Leader is gone. So sad. I wish Malawi has a leader like Magufuli. Tanzania has tremendously grown during his leadership. Lessen corruption and at least Civil Service improvements were seen. MHSRIP

    2. He even was better at rigging an election than Mutharika, because he came away with it in 2018.

  27. Just like everyone else, I am shocked by the death of Magufuli. On the other hand I was also shocked with how he reacted to Covid19 in his country.

    He is the 3rd populist head of state who downplayed Covid but ended up catching it: The other two, Trump and Bolsonaro survived. (The heart disease cited is just one of the problems caused by Covid – in severe cases Covid19 results in multi-organ failure).

    The main lesson we can take as Malawians is to redouble our efforts in preventing this disease AND in getting the vaccine. I am dismayed with the laxity that is rampant at the moment – many people have stopped wearing masks in public places, and the police are just watching.

    The huge debts our Govt is piling up should be used to buy more vaccines to ensure that we achieve Herd Immunity asap…

    1. I can’t believe the things I am reading. You can’t be serious? Most of the time a person must be tested to know if they have Covid 19… that’s how “bad”it is. Much of the population is asymptomatic with it. Heart disease has been around long before Covid. The fatality reports are so blown out of proportion now that in some countries people are not dying of anything else but Covid. It’s as if Covid cured the other diseases (sarcasm).
      Nearly half a million people die in Sub-Saharan Africa every year from P Falciparum Malaria and you are worried about something with a 99% survival rate in most of the population? And you want police to enforce the wearing of fabric on the face to keep out viruses? Man, What a mess!

    1. Stuborn or not, the man is a living visionary. Mr. Chakwera’s trip was to fly all the way to Caanan at great cost leaving Malawians starving. What did he achieve. MORE CORRUPTION

      2. The guy was a big foot on how he handled covid-19, very stupid reasoning ngati bulutu, no sympathy for such idiot, how many people died because of such recklessness, shame

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