Magufuli died from coronavirus, says Tanzania opposition leader

Tanzania’s main opposition leader Tundu Lissu said Thursday that President John Magufuli had died from the coronavirus, calling his death “poetic justice” after the strongman leader downplayed the severity of the virus.

The country’s vice-president announced late Wednesday that Magufuli, who had not been seen in public for nearly three weeks, had died in a hospital in Dar es Salaam from a heart condition he had suffered from for a decade.

But Lissu, who ran and lost against Magufuli in a disputed October election, said the 61-year-old strongman leader had succumbed to coronavirus and the government was “lying even now that he is dead”.

“Magufuli died of corona,” said Lissu from Belgium in an interview broadcast on Kenyan network KTN News, citing his sources. The claim could not be independently verified.

Magufuli’s unexplained absence from public view had fueled wild rumours of his ill health, with his opponents insisting he had contracted Covid-19 and his illness was being kept under wraps.

The government repeatedly denied those allegations.

Written by Noelyn Nassuuna