Tanzania's President John Magufuli has died aged 61, the country's vice-president has announced. He died on Wednesday from heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, Samia Suluhu Hassan said in an address on state television. Mr Magufuli had not been seen in public for more than two weeks, and rumours have been circulating about his health. Opposition politicians said last week that he had contracted Covid-19, but this has not been confirmed.
On Wednesday evening she had the task of announcing to Tanzanians that President John Magufuli had died and now Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan has taken his place as the country's head of state. First elected as Magufuli's running mate in 2015, she was re-elected last year along with him and, according to the constitution, she should serve out the rest of the five-year term in the top job. She becomes Africa's only current female national leader - the Ethiopian presidency is a largely ceremonial role - and joins a short list of women on the continent to have run their countries. The 61-year-old is affectionately known as Mama Samia - in Tanzanian culture that reflects the respect she is held in, rather than reducing her to a gendered role.
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone
Tanzania's President John Magufuli has died
Posted - 17 Mar 2021 : 22:40:26
