Tanzanian president who favoured prayer over lockdown is feared to have Covid-19 after vanishing

Tanzania’s president who refused to enforce lockdowns or mask-wearing is feared to have contracted Covid-19 after vanishing for two weeks.

John Magufuli insisted for months that the pandemic had been fended off by prayer, claimed that vaccines were ‘dangerous’ and has not published any Covid statistics since May. 

The president has not been seen in public since February 27 and the opposition party are now demanding to know his whereabouts after a number of high-ranking officials have died from the virus.

Tanzania’s president John Magufuli who refused to enforce lockdowns or mask-wearing is feared to have contracted Covid-19 after vanishing for two weeks

Magufuli’s absence has led to a flurry of rumours on social media, with the hashtag #Pray4Magufuli trending in neighbouring Kenya on Wednesday, with many speculating he may have Covid-19.

Several Tanzanian officials have died recently, while the finance minister appeared last month coughing and gasping at a press conference outside a hospital to dispel rumours he had died of Covid-19.

Magufuli last month conceded the virus was still circulating despite his previous claims after the vice-president of semi-autonomous Zanzibar was revealed to have died.

In June last year, he claimed he had ridden the 60-million population of the virus after three days of national prayer. 

He has often advocated the use of herbal remedies, has never worn a mask, has encouraged international tourism and often attends large gatherings.

He was last seen in public in February when he swore in a new chief secretary, and has since skipped a regional heads of state virtual summit and two Sunday church services, which he regularly attends. 

In March last year, the president said the virus will not harm the country’s Christian population, saying: ‘Coronavirus, which is a devil, cannot survive in the body of Christ… It will burn instantly.’

Magufuli insisted for months that the pandemic had been fended off by prayer and claimed that vaccines were ‘dangerous’

He has condemned lockdowns, social distancing and the forced closures of shops and restaurants in other countries.

When a batch of testing kits arrived, he claimed they were faulty and tested positive on goats and pawpaws.

He has instead advocated inhaling steam, eating maize and potatoes and using a plant-based treatment developed in Madagascar. 

‘The President’s well-being is a matter of grave public concern,’ opposition leader Tundu Lissu wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

‘We’re informed when (former president Jakaya) Kikwete had prostate surgery. We’re told when (former president Benjamin) Mkapa went for hip replacement… What’s it with Magufuli that we don’t deserve to know?’

Meanwhile, Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper reported that ‘an African leader’ from a country which has refused face masks and public health measures, had been admitted to the Nairobi Hospital.

He was last seen in public in February when he swore in a new chief secretary, and has since skipped a regional heads of state virtual summit and two Sunday church services 

An official at the hospital told AFP ‘we don’t know’ when asked if Magufuli had been admitted, while Kenyan government sources denied the information.

‘There are things like health issues which are private but for a public leader, people need to know. We don’t want all details but at least knowing when the leader is ill or hospitalised,’ the secretary general of the opposition party Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT Wazalendo), Ado Shaibu, told AFP.

‘When you make such information open, you reduce room for unnecessary panic and spread of rumours.’

Tanzania’s government has yet to comment on Magufuli’s whereabouts, however Information Minister Innocent Bashungwa on Wednesday warned media and citizens against ‘using rumours as source of information.’

Tanzania stopped releasing data on Covid-19 in April 2020 and in January Magufuli said vaccines for the disease were ‘dangerous’.

The head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last month appealed to Tanzania to take ‘robust action’ against Covid-19, after several travellers from the country tested positive.

After months of denying the presence of the virus, Magufuli revealed in February that some of his aides and family members had contracted Covid-19 but recovered.

‘Let us all depend on God as we also take other preventive measures. I put God first and that is why I do not wear a mask.’