President of Tanzania died of heart problems

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has died at the age of 61 from heart disease, according to the African country’s Vice President Samia Suluhu in a televised message to the nation on Wednesday.

Magufuli, whose absence in public since February 27 had sparked many rumors about his health, died this Wednesday around 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. GMT) in Dar es Salaam, the economic capital of Tanzania, he said. declared. State TV on TBC.

According to the vice president, the president had entered a hospital with an illness last week. “I had heart disease for a few years”, Explain.

“The country will be in mourning for two weeks,” said Suhulu, visibly saddened. Last Monday, the vice president asked her compatriots for unity and has already hinted that Magufuli may be ill.

Since his last public appearance on February 27, rumors about the head of state’s health had multiplied, a denier covid-19, who could have requested medical assistance abroad after being infected with the coronavirus, according to the opposition, although this extreme has not been officially confirmed to date.

“It is not unusual for a person’s body to be sick and contract the flu or develop a fever. This is perfectly normal. However, now is the time for Tanzanians to unite in prayer, ”Suhulu said on Monday.

Without specifying who she was talking about, the vice-president pointed out that there were many rumors circulating which should not bother Tanzanians. “Tanzanians, we must work together, stand in solidarity and build our nation. The rumors you hear are not from Tanzania, they are from outside the country, ”he said.

It was the second time, in less than a week, that the government had tried to dispel rumors about the president’s absence.

Last Friday, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa accused the diaspora of speculating on the fate of the Magufuli in order to incite hatred.

Majaliwa said he spoke to the president by phone on Friday and was busy reading documents. “Tanzanians can be sure that their president is close, healthy and working hard,” the prime minister said.

Magufuli was last seen in public on February 27 during his chief of staff’s swearing-in ceremony, which took place at the presidential residence in Dar es Salaam.

Exiled opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who lost the presidential elections last October to Magufuli, said on his Twitter account last week that the president visited India in critical condition after first evacuated to his neighbor. Kenya to receive care for covid19.

“My own sources at TISS (Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service) say that (the president) is with covid in intensive care and is paralyzed on one side and waist down after a stroke,” said the leader. Belgium, this Monday.

The real situation of the pandemic in Tanzania is unknown due to the lack of transparency and denial that authorities have maintained, with Magufuli in the lead.

In March 2020, shortly after the detection of the first case of covid-19 in the country, the President He asserted that “the crown (virus) is the devil and cannot survive in the body of Christ”.

His policy then rested on asking his compatriots to “pray” to fight the disease and to criticize the measures of the West.

As of late April 2020, Tanzania has not released an official figure for the disease, which has left infections stagnant at 509, of which 21 have resulted in deaths. In June, the head of state declared the pandemic in the country defeated thanks to divine intervention.

In February, Tanzania, which claimed to be “free” from COVID-19 through prayers, experienced a spate of deaths, officially attributed to pneumonia.

Prominent figures have been affected, including the vice-president of the Zanzibar Archipelago, Seif Sharif Hamad, who has passed away, forcing Magufuli to half admit the presence of the virus in Tanzania.

Married with three children, John Magufuli has been running this East African country since 2015.

With information from AFP and EFE

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