User:Lcawte/Death of John Magufuli

John Magufuli died on 17 March 2021, aged 61. He was the first President of Tanzania to die while in office.

Illness and death
Magufuli had reportedly not been in public for a number of weeks, leading to speculation that the president had fallen ill. Tanzanian police had arrested a number of individuals for making claims that Magufuli had fallen ill as early as March 12th.

COVID-19 claims
Critics of Magufuli had claimed that the president was receiving treatment for COVID-19. Magufuli and his government had staunchly denied the global coronavirus pandemic was not an issue in the country and saying that the countries prayer would protect them from the virus.

International reaction

 * 🇰🇪 kenya: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said he had lost an ally. A seven-day state of mourning was declared across Kenya. Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga expressed his condolences to Magufuli's family with whom he was a close friend.
 * 🇸🇴 somalia: President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed called for calm and patience during the mourning period.
 * 🇳🇬 nigeria: Former president, Goodluck Jonathan said Magufuli was a "bright star" and called him a "true partner in democracy".