Tanzania: Opposition pressures government to comment on Magufuli’s whereabouts
Tanzania's opposition leader Tundu Antiphas Lissu has pressured the government to shed light on President John Pombe Magufuli's health and whereabouts.
Lissu's concerns come amid reports that the Tanzania Head of State is recuperating at a hospital in Nairobi.
Lissu who exiled to Belgium after a heightened political temperature during Tanzania's General Election in November 2020 said Magufuli has been missing in public scenes for over a week.
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Rais Magufuli hakwenda kanisani Jumapili iliyopita na leo pia hajaenda. Hakuhudhuria mkutano wa Wakuu wa nchi za EAC wiki iliyopita na hajaonekana hadharani zaidi ya wiki. Bwana Msemaji Mkuu wa Serikali tunaomba taarifa aliko Rais wetu na kama yuko salama! https://t.co/Y9uHC4gXxt— Tundu Antiphas Lissu (@TunduALissu) March 7, 2021
The exiled opposition chief said the President's health is a matter of public concern and Tanzanians should not be denied information on the whereabouts of their leader.
He speculated that the President could be receiving treatment for coronavirus amid reports that he is admitted at a hospital in Nairobi.
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"It’s a sad comment on his stewardship of our country that it’s come to this: that he himself had get COVID-19 and be flown out to Kenya in order to prove that prayers, steam inhalations and other unproven herbal concoctions he’s championed are no protection against coronavirus," said Lissu on Wednesday.
Despite Magufuli missing from the public sphere, his government has not yet released a statement on his whereabouts, neither has his party the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
Tanzania is known for suppressing public information as currently witnessed in the pandemic. Tanzania released its last coronavirus statistics in May last year, despite pressure from its international partners.
