Reported by:
Faridah N Kulumba
It is now a week since the president of Tanzania John Pombe Magufuli was announced dead by his former vice President now confirmed president Samia Suluhu Hassan.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan delivered the news on 17 wed night to people of Tanzania and the rest of the world, Saying that Magufuli died of heart condition in a hospital in Dar es Salaam after being admitted on 6 March 2021.
The announcement came after almost three weeks of speculations over the whereabouts of president Magufuli, which was started by the opposition leader Tundu Lissu, claiming that Magufuli was in critical condition in Nairobi Hospital due to Covid-19.
Condolence messages from leaders in Africa and the rest of the world are still streaming after the death of Magufuli as many are still wondering how Tanzania will survive in the absence of a leader who was loved, loathed and feared.
According to Article 37 of Tanzania’s constitution, the Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in on Friday 19 20021 as the six president of Tanzania also became the first female to hold such a position in Tanzania, and the second president to come from the country’s semi autonomous island of Zanzibar.
Hassan while addressing the nation for the first time as the president after swearing in, said that the death of Magufuli has ushered Tanzania into a new era which requires focus and unity.
Government spokesman Hassan Abbasi said on state TV last week:
”During this difficult time, we look on the incoming president to provide the leadership and unity that we need. We wish her blessings, courage and patience,”said Kabwe.
*Will the death of Magufuli bring change in Tanzania?*
Magufuli’s leadership has left a significant legacy that many are yet to fully comprehend, from infrastructure development to the suppression of political and civil rights. His death raised questions about whether Tanzania will change direction or stay the course.
Human Rights Watch told Reuters that president Magufuli’s death provides an opportunity for the new leadership in Tanzania to take concrete steps to reverse the country’s downward human rights trajectory and ensure accountability for past abuses.
It has been reported on different media that since Magufuli became the president of Tanzania in 2015, the authorities have cracked down on the media and civil society groups, by passing and enforcing restrictive laws and threatening to withdraw the registration of organisations critical of the government.
East Africa Director at Human Rights Watch Otsieno Namwaya said that the new government now has a chance for a fresh start by ending problematic past practices.
”Over the past six years, president Magufuli over saw abusive laws and policies that seriously undermined human rights in Tanzania,” said Namwaya.
Magufuli’s presidency, steered Tanzania toward authoritarianism by implementing nationalist economic agenda, characterised by stifled regional and international trade and blow to foreign direct investment.
A political analyst Elsie Eyakuze told Reuters that she hoped that the opposition would find new platforms that would enrich and diversify public life.
‘’I envision that many restrictions pertaining to civic freedoms might relax, and i am anticipating a change in political flavour as happens with every incumbent. I cannot possibly speculate on what his death means for the ruling party, May hope is that we might return to the multiparty democracy we were working on developing between 1995 and 2015,’’ said Eyakuze.
Also there have been questions around changes in the national Covid-19 response. Magufuli was sceptical about Coronavirus since last year, which led him to declare Tanzania as a virus-free country.
Mwambu Idris a shop attendant in Tanzania told African Press that there could be a change in attitude towards Covid-19, according to the situation in the country right now, due to the fact that some Tanzanians believe that Magufuli succumbed to Covid-19.
Another major question is about whether the new Tanzania president Samia Hassan will scrap or continue major development projects, including a $3.5 billion crude oil pipeline led by Total SA, a liquefied natural gas plant, a hydro-power plant and a standard gauge railway of $1.3 billion loan from China.
One lecturer at Aberdeen Scotland Dan Paget said that it is still early to know how Magufuli’s death will change Tanzania, but believes that a new leader is an opportunity to wash the sins of the past.
*Will the soft-spoken Samia Suluhu be able to handle political divisions within the country.*
Samia Suluhu after swearing in as the president of Tanzania on 19 Friday stressed that the new era of Magufuli’s absence requires unity.
Those who know president Samia described her as ambitious and international, who will try to thread the needle between the fractured Chama Cha Mapinduzi party.
Hassan is believed to fall more into the second camp than the first camp according to Reuters, and that she is likely to hold more sympathy than her predecessor for the urban, liberal Tanzanians who favour free press and free trade..
She is the kind of a person who has not been afraid to go against the grain of her own party in order to bring peace. In 2017 she made headlines in Tanzania and caused a stir amongst Chama Cha Mapinduzi party when she visited the opposition leader Tundu Lissu at Nairobi Hospital, following assassination attempt, with many speculating that state forces were involved.
Suluhu is perturbed by the growing division in Tanzanian society and was shaken by violence surrounding the October 2020 elections.
Tanzania Government Spokesperson announced the funeral program of the late President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, saying that he will be laid to rest on Friday, 26th March at his home in Chato.
