Former Vice President Samia Suluhu was installed on Friday as successor to Tanzania’s president John Magufuli, who died suddenly this week. This means that the East African country has a woman as president for the first time. She will complete the tenure of her predecessor until 2025.
Suluhu is the country’s sixth president. She is also the first president to come from the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, which lies off the coast of Tanzania.
Magufuli’s death is shrouded in mystery. The new president said on Wednesday evening that Magufuli died of heart disease at the age of 61, but according to his political opponents, he died from the effects of the coronavirus. Magufuli had not appeared in public for two weeks by then.
Magufuli was known as one of the African continent’s best-known corona skeptics. He claimed that God and alternative treatments such as a steam bath can protect the Tanzanians. He also called corona vaccines a conspiracy of Western countries to extract the riches from Africa. In May, Tanzania stopped reporting data on the corona virus.
After Magufuli’s death, two weeks of national mourning were declared. His funeral is on March 25.
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