By Neema Oloo
(oloojneema@gmail.com)
Tanzanian President Dr. John Pombe Magufuli died on Wednesday at around 6pm while undergoing treatment.
This comes after he suffered of a long-term abnormal heart rhythm disease, Chronic Atrial Fibrillation, which he has lived with for over 10 years.
Vice President Samia Suluhu announced that burial preparations are underway and the country will go into a 14-day mourning period with the national flag raised on half-mast. She takes over as President- Elect of the nation, becoming the first female president in the region.
The 61-year-old was admitted at the Mzena hospital under the care of doctors from the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac hospital in Dar es salaam.
His first admission to hospital was on March 6, at the Mzena hospital after which he was released to resume his duties as the President.
Magufuli was again rushed to Mzena Hospital on March 14 after feeling unwell.
Speculations about his where abouts got to a rise after his disappearance from the public for over two weeks. He was last seen in public on February 27, during the swearing in of a new Chief Secretary at State house in Dar es salaam.
Magufuli’s demise comes barely a year after being re-elected as Tanzania’s 5th president, following the general elections on 28th October 2020.
Samia Suluhu will be required to take over as the Head of State as per the Tanzanian constitution.
Zitto Kabwe, opposition leader said that the nation will remember him for his development of the country.
The late president Magufuli downplayed the intensity of Covid 19 and instead urged Tanzanians to pray and use steam inhalation to protect themselves from the virus. The country stopped publicizing infection numbers in April 2020, according the The New Humanitarian.
The fallen leader will be remembered for his astute leadership and his devoted fight of corruption in the country.