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General news for Wednesday March 17, 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
03/17/2021
The late John Pombe Magufuli
John Pombe Magufuli, President of Tanzania has passed away.
The announcement was made by the country’s Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan on state television.
According to her, Magufuli died of heart complications while being treated at Mzena Hospital in the port city of Dar es Salaam.
Magufuli’s death follows more than a week of intense speculation that he was gravely ill with COVID-19 – reports that senior government officials have repeatedly denied.
He was known as a populist leader who downplayed the severity of the novel coronavirus pandemic and distanced his country from democratic ideals.
Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan in her announcement did not specify the nature of Magufuli’s underlying disease, but said he had suffered from chronic atrial fibrillation for more than a decade.
She said flags will fly to half the staff across the country and funeral arrangements are underway.
John Pombe Magufuli, a chemist by training, was first elected in October 2015 on an anti-corruption platform.
He was first praised for his efforts to support the economy, stem unnecessary spending and modernize Tanzania’s infrastructure.
The late ruler of Tanzania was popularly known as the “Bulldozer”. He was accused of silencing dissent, curtailing freedom of expression and association, and passing laws that strengthened his Revolutionary Party’s grip on power.
He was 61 years old.
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