Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli is reportedly hospitalized at a Nairobi hospital battling breathing difficulties, reportedly linked to COVID-19.
It’s worth noting that President Magufuli, against his routine, never attended church services on two consecutive Sundays.
President Mugufuli also failed to attend the Extraordinary Summit of the East African Community Heads of State last week. It was a virtual parley.
During the Summit, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta was selected as chair of the East African Community while Burundi’s Evariste Ndayishimiye chosen as the community’s rapporteur.
On Tuesday, Opposition Leader Tundu ALissu through his tweeter handle petitioned the government Spokesperson to explain the whereabouts of the president and his health status.
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| John Pombe Magufuli |
Without mincing words, the Opposition Leader was categorical that the health of the President was a matter of national concern and that the public ought to be informed consistently.
“The President’s well-being is a matter of grave public concern. We’re informed when Kikwete had prostate surgery. We’re told when Mkapa went for hip replacement. We’re not kept in the dark when Mwalimu fought leukaemia. What’s it with Magufuli that we don’t deserve to know?” Tundu petitioned.
In February, Magufuli finally acknowledged that his country has a coronavirus problem after claiming for months that the disease had been defeated by prayer.
The president’s comments came days after the country of some 60 million people mourned the death of one of its highest-profile politicians, the vice president of the semi-autonomous island region of Zanzibar, whose political party had earlier said he had COVID-19. The president’s chief secretary also died, though the cause was not revealed.
Magufuli, speaking at the chief secretary’s funeral in a nationally televised broadcast, urged the nation to participate in three days of prayer for unspecified “respiratory” illnesses that had become a challenge in the country.
Tanzania has not updated its number of coronavirus infections since April as the president has insisted COVID-19 had been defeated. Tanzania’s official number of coronavirus infections remains at just 509, but residents report that many people have become ill with breathing difficulties and hospitals have seen a rise in patients for “pneumonia.”
Credit: TSW News
