An African Trump?

There are ho hum opinions in conversations about who John Pombe Magufuli was and what he meant. There were instances where Western media outlets referred to him as the Donald Trump of Africa. Tanzania’s late president was admired by followers for his hostility to corruption and waste, but regarded by foes as an irascible authoritarian intolerant of dissent and sceptical about COVID-19. He has died aged 61.

Magufuli played down the threat from Covid, saying god and remedies such as steam inhalation would protect Tanzanians. The former chemistry teacher mocked coronavirus tests, denounced vaccines as part of a Western conspiracy to take Africa’s wealth, and opposed mask-wearing and social distancing. He said last year that Tanzania eradicated the disease through three days of national prayer. He dismissed coronavirus test kits because he said they had returned positive results on samples taken from a goat and a pawpaw. He even sent samples from bicycle lubricant, papaya fruit and a quail bird to be tested in his bid to discredit testing. A devout Catholic, he pronounced that “coronavirus is a devil ... and cannot sit in the body of Christ”. He promoted herbs and exercise as remedies.

Nicknamed The Bulldozer because of his reputation for pushing through policies despite opposition, Magufuli remained popular among most Tanzanians for his seemingly frank talk against corruption even as he curtailed political freedoms. In 2015, the newly elected Magufuli made news on his first day in office. He showed up unannounced in the morning at the ministry of finance offices to see how many officials had come to work on time. That week he also banned unnecessary trips by government officials, as an austerity measure. Magufuli, in no-nonsense style, would make unannounced inspection visits to government departments, and once sacked senior managers at Tanzania’s main public hospital, saying they were not delivering. He also purged thousands of “ghost workers” from the government, and reduced his own salary as part of spending cuts. He soon canceled Independence Day celebrations and said the funds budgeted for the event would be used to improve roads and infrastructure in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital.

At the same time, Magufuli cracked down on dissenters. In early 2016 Magufuli stopped live broadcasts of parliamentary debates in which the opposition criticised the government, and in July that year he banned political rallies. Despite the repression, Magufuli’s supporters say he was focused on Tanzania’s economic success. Scores of infrastructure programmes, including trains and the revival of Air Tanzania, were launched under his reign. Tanzania is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and in July the World Bank categorised it as a middle-income country five years ahead of schedule.