Tanzania’s controversial president, John Magufuli, died at age 61. The son of a subsistence farmer, he became president in 2015 and was praised for his serious approach.
Known as “The Bulldozer”, he gained international notoriety for his reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are some of your opinions, in your own words.
In coronavirus
“I want to thank the Tanzanians of all religions. We have prayed and fasted that God will save us from the pandemic that afflicted our country and the world. But God has answered us. I believe, and I am sure that many Tanzanians believe the coronary disease has been eliminated by God, “he told the faithful at a church in the capital, Dodoma, in June 2020.
“We need to be careful because some of these donations to fight the coronavirus can be used to transmit the virus. I want to urge you Tanzanians not to accept donations of masks, instead, tell donors to use them with their wives and children” he added.
A devout Catholic, he made many comments about the virus in religious cults.
Last March, he said, “Coronavirus, which is a demon, cannot survive in the body of Christ … It will burn instantly.”
Two months later, at Mass in his hometown, Chato, he said:
“We had a number of viral diseases, including AIDS and measles. Our economy must come first. You must not sleep … Life must go on … Countries [elsewhere] in Africa they will come here to buy food in the coming years … they will suffer because of the closure of their economy. “
At the funeral of a top presidential aide on February 19 – and after the death of Covid-19’s Zanzibar vice president earlier this month – he asked Tanzanians not to panic.
“It is possible that it will be another test, but with God we will win. We are not going to be scared because we are not going to win … God cannot abandon this nation ”.
In confinement
“Our founder was not someone to be told what to do … Those who invent these kinds of rules [lockdown] are used to making these guidelines that our founder refused, “said Magufuli, referring to the habit of Tanzania’s first leader, Julius Nyerere, of rejecting advice from Western nations.
In coronavirus tests
He questioned the effectiveness of Covid’s tests in May, the last time the country published data on coronavirus cases and deaths.
After sending several animals and fruits to check for the virus – he said that a papaya, a quail and a goat were positive.
“So many times, I have insisted that not everything you receive is good. There may be people being used, this equipment can be used … but it can also be sabotage because this is war.”
In Covid vaccines
“The Ministry of Health must be careful, they should not be in a hurry to try these vaccines without doing research, not all vaccines are important to us, we must be careful. We should not be used as ‘guinea pigs’, ”said Magufuli in January.
“Vaccines are dangerous. If the white man was able to propose vaccines, he should have already found a vaccine for AIDS, cancer and tuberculosis.”
About corruption
“The way to treat a boil is to squeeze it, and I took responsibility for doing that. I know that squeezing a boil hurts, but unfortunately there are no two ways to do that,” Magufuli told lawmakers after his election in 2015, about its effort to eradicate corruption and lazy workers.
Almost two years later, after firing some 10,000 civil servants for having false education certificates, he said: “These people held government positions, but had no qualifications … they robbed us like other common criminals.”
In pregnant girls
“As long as I am president … no pregnant student will be allowed to go back to school … After becoming pregnant, you are finished,” he said in June 2017, adding that young mothers would be distracted in class.
“After calculating some mathematical sums, she asked the teacher in the classroom: ‘Let me go out and breastfeed my crying baby.'”
On population growth
President Magufuli urged women in Tanzania to release their “ovaries” and have more children.
“When you have a large population, you build the economy. That’s why China’s economy is so big,” he told Reuters in June 2019.
“I know that those who like to block their ovaries will complain about my observations. Free your ovaries, let them block theirs.”
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In the lead
“I want you Tanzanians to believe that you have a real president, a real rock. I cannot be threatened and I am not threatened,” said Magufuli in March 2018.
In censorship
“I would like to tell the media owners – be careful, watch. If you think you have that kind of freedom, [it is] not to that extent, “he said in 2017, reminding journalists of the new laws and a new code of conduct overseen by the information ministry.
In your education
“Our house was covered with straw and, like many boys, I was assigned to shepherd the cattle, as well as selling milk and fish to support my family,” he said during his 2015 election campaign.
“I know what it means to be poor. I will strive to help improve people’s well-being.”
In your legacy
“One day you will remember me … I know that one day you will remember me, not for bad things, but for good deeds … because I sacrificed my life for the poor in Tanzania,” he said in a video that later resurfaced his death.