The President of Tanzania, John Magufuli has passed away at the age of 61, after an illness that saw him disappear from public life for 2 weeks.
This was disclosed by Vice President, Samia Suluhu Hassan in a broadcast on Wednesday evening.
“Dear Tanzanians, it is sad to announce that today 17 March 2021 around 6 p.m. we lost our brave leader, President John Magufuli who died from heart disease at Mzena hospital in Dar es Salaam where he was getting treatment,” the vice president said
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Magufuli had not been seen in public since the 24th of February. The Vice President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, will be sworn in and complete the rest of the five-year term that Magufuli began serving last year after winning a second term, becoming Tanzania’s first female president.
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What you should know about Magufuli
Magufuli was born in Chato, north-west Tanzania, in 1959, and Studied Chemistry and maths at the University of Dar es Salaam, after which he worked as a Teacher and Industrial Chemist before he entered Politics.
He was elected as Member of Parliament in 1995, Minister in 2000 and President in 2015.
