Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli is reportedly admitted at the Nairobi Hospital in Kenya after contracting Covid-19, even as his government remains mum on his whereabouts despite concerns from opposition leaders in the country.
Sources in the know revealed to a local media that Magufuli, who is on record denying the existence of Coronavirus in the entire East African country, was flown to the Capital Nairobi on Monday after his condition deteriorated.
Tanzania’s top opposition leaders claim that Magufuli is on a ventilator, a machine that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently.
Yesterday, Tundu Lissu, who unsuccessfully ran against Magufuli in the October 2020 presidential election, was among the first leaders in Tanzania to raise questions on the President’s whereabouts.
“The president’s well-being is a matter of grave public concern,” Lissu said in a tweet Tuesday. He cited public announcements of previous Tanzanian leaders’ illnesses, before asking: “What’s it with Magufuli that we don’t deserve to know?”
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 leukemia. What’s it with Magufuli that we don’t deserve to know?
— Tundu Antiphas Lissu (@TunduALissu) March 9, 2021
The President, who regularly addresses public rallies and congregants on Sundays, was last seen in public on February 24.
He used the forums to encourage Tanzanians to use steam therapy and other traditional methods to keep the virus, which he claimed had been defeated by “prayers”, at bay.
Source: Various