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World leaders mourn Magufuli

By Amina Wako March 18th, 2021 1 min read

President Uhuru Kenyatta has led world leaders in mourning Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli.

The Head of State died of a heart attack aged 61 on Wednesday according to a televised announcement by Vice-President Sulumu Hassan.

President Kenyatta who is also the East Africa Community (EAC) chairperson eulogized Magufuli as a friend and a pan-Africanist.

“Magufuli was a champion of Pan-Africanism. I have lost a friend and an ally. Africa and the world have lost a leader who steered the EAC and the continent,” he said.

Former President Mwai Kibaki also sent a message of condolences to the family, friends, and the people of Tanzania.

“I convey my message of condolence and pray for the Almighty God’s comfort as we all come to terms with this irremediable bereavement,” read part of the statement from the Third president of Kenya.

Other leaders in Kenya include Deputy President William Ruto who remembered Magufuli as a decisive, bold, and fearless leader.

“He easily broke with any orthodoxies in government and management that he considered unimaginative, inefficient, mediocre or corrupt,” DP Ruto said.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga also mourned Magufuli as a person friend and champion of African affairs and urged Tanzanian authorities to follow the law in handling his transition.

“President Magufuli and his family have been close friends for a long period of time. He has been by my side at my most difficult and painful moments,” he said.

Other leaders who mourned Magufuli include Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, Somali’s Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and US Ambassador to Tanzania Donald J. Wright