Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli is dead. He was 61.
Magufuli had not been seen in public since February 27. Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan confirmed his death in a live broadcast.
Hassan said Magufuli died on Wednesday around 6pm from heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam.
“Dear Tanzanians, it is sad to announce that today 17 March 2021 around 6 p.m. we lost our brave leader, President John Magufuli who died from heart illness at Mzena hospital in Dar es Salaam where he was getting treatment,” the vice president said on state broadcaster TBC.
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Magufuli, from northwest Tanzania, first won the presidency in 2015 and had faced accusations from Western countries and opposition parties of eroding democracy.
He was nicknamed “The Bulldozer” because of his reputation for pushing through policies despite opposition.
According to Tanzania’s Constitution, Vice President Hassan, 61, will assume the presidency for the remainder of the five-year term that ‘Bulldozer’ began serving last year after winning a second term.
She would be the East African nation’s first female President.
However, Magufuli took the oath of office for the second term at a sports stadium in the capital, Dodoma, with crowds streaming in from early in the morning.
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He will serve Tanzania for another five years in his second term which will run from 2021 to 2025.
The 61-year-old won 84% of the vote, in a poll rejected by the opposition as fraudulent, while his main rival, Tundu Lissu, got 13% of the vote.
The election commission denied that the election was rigged
Magufuli held up a ceremonial spear and shield to signify the beginning of his presidency, shortly after taking the oath on Thursday morning, amid cheers from Tanzanian citizens.
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“Mimi, John Pombe Magufuli nitatimiza kazi kwa bidii na moyo mkunjufu bila uoga, upendeleo wala chuki. (I John Pombe Magufuli, vow to serve Tanzanian citizens diligently without fear, favour or hate),” he said during oath taking.
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