Controversial President of Tanzania John Magufuli, 61, passed away | NOW

Tanzanian President John Magufuli died on Wednesday at the age of 61 in a hospital in Dar es Salaam. The country’s vice president, Samia Suluhu, announced on Wednesday that Magufuli has succumbed to heart disease. She will take his place until the next elections in 2025, becoming the country’s first female president.

Magufuli was known as one of the African continent’s best-known corona skeptics. He had not appeared in public for two weeks, leading many Tanzanians to suspect that he had become infected with the coronavirus.

There will be a period of mourning in the country for the next two weeks. The flags are also at half mast and state television plays mourning music. Magufuli is the first Tanzanian president to die while in office.

Magufuli had been the president of the East African country since 2015. Last year, he was re-elected in a controversial presidential election with 84 percent of the vote. He was nicknamed ‘The Bulldozer’ because of his authoritarian leadership style and fondness for large infrastructure projects.

The president last year angered the world health organization WHO by claiming that COVID-19 was not a threat. According to him, God and alternative treatments such as a steam bath could protect the Tanzanians. He also claimed that corona vaccines were a conspiracy by Western countries to extract the riches from Africa. In May, Tanzania stopped reporting coronavirus data.

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