Tanzanian President John Magufuli died of heart disease, the Eastern African country said Wednesday, despite speculation that he had contracted the novel coronavirus. He was 61.
A prominent coronavirus sceptic, Magufuli had not been seen in public since last month, leading to comments that he suffered from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, and had left the country for treatment abroad.
But Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan said the president died on Wednesday at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, where he was getting treatment, according to Reuters.
Born in 1959, Magufuli, a former chemistry teacher, served as a lawmaker before assuming the presidency in 2015. The president, nicknamed the "bulldozer" for his political style of pushing through policies despite opposition, won his second term last year.
According to Tanzania's Constitution, the vice president will assume the presidency for the remainder of the five-year term for Magufuli, in a move that would make her the nation's first female leader, Reuters said.
