The death of President John Magufuli in full exercise of power does not seem to leave anyone indifferent. Several African heads of state made the trip on Monday, March 22 to pay tribute to the memory of the head of state who died during a national funeral in the capital, Dodoma. Exhibited Saturday and Sunday in the economic capital Dar es Salaam, his body was greeted in Dodoma by a compact crowd gathered in the streets, who greeted the passage of the funeral convoy with songs, cries and tears. At the Jamhuri stadium, where the national funeral took place in front of tens of thousands of people, rescuers had to take care of some spectators who had lost consciousness.
African leaders hail ‘visionary fighter’
President since 2015, John Magufuli, 61, officially died Wednesday of heart problems, Tanzanian authorities said. But his main opponent says the leader, who has consistently downplayed the impact of the coronavirus and refused to take action to stem the pandemic, died of Covid-19. On Monday, only a small number of Tanzanians as well as foreign heads of state and their delegations wore masks in the packed stadium.
Nine African heads of state from Kenya, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Botswana as well as many ambassadors were present at the ceremony.
While the body was on display in a glass-covered coffin in the center of the stadium, speeches took place over several hours. Félix Tshisekedi, President of the DRC and current President of the African Union, notably hailed “a visionary, patriot and nationalist fighter” and “a committed Pan-Africanist” who notably fought corruption, “cancer” on the continent.“From Magufuli, we learned to live without dependence on others. Look at the roads, electricity and other infrastructure projects he has implemented, ”said Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Africa had lost a true Pan-Africanist, who preferred to stay in his country in the service of his people instead of spending his time traveling the world.
A legacy difficult to manage
If his years in power were marked by big projects, they also saw an authoritarian turn, denounced by human rights organizations, with repeated attacks on the opposition and a decline in fundamental freedoms. In her speech, the new president Samia Suluhu Hassan assured “those who have doubts” about her ability to lead that “the country is in good hands”. The policy of the former vice-president, who took over from Magufuli until the end of her term in 2025 as provided for in the Constitution, will be closely scrutinized as doubts still hover over the true causes of death. “The timing reminds me of Covid-19 because that’s when many people, including executives, died from what doctors and some officials called pneumonia,” recently confided to AFP Andrew, teacher in Dar es Salaam.
John Magufuli is the second East African leader to die in controversial circumstances after Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, as he was skeptical of Covid-19 and died of “heart failure” in June last after his wife was transported to Kenya for treatment of the coronavirus.
A final farewell to Chato, his hometown
The coffin will still be transported to six cities across the country so that Tanzanians can meditate in front of his remains. On Tuesday, the body of John Magufuli is expected in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago in the Indian Ocean where the new president was born. He is then to be buried on Friday in his hometown of Chato, in the northwest of the country.
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