President John Magufuli of Tanzania has died at the age of 61, his Vice, Samia Sulhu Hassan confirmed the sad news on Wednesday via a state broadcast.
The Vice President in the televised address to the nation, said President John Magufuli died of a “heart condition”, which he had suffered for 10-years at a hospital in Dar-Es-Salaam.
Magufuli had first been briefly admitted to the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute on March 6, but was subsequently discharged, Hassan said on state television. But he was rushed to hospital again on March 14 after feeling unwell.
After the death was announced, opposition leader Zitto Kabwe said he had spoken to Hassan to offer condolences for Magufuli’s death.
“The nation will remember him for his contribution to the development of our country,” Kabwe said in a statement published on Twitter.
According to Tanzania’s Constitution, Hassan, 61, should assume the presidency for the remainder of the five-year term that Magufuli began serving last year after winning a second term.