Was Magufuli Covid-19 Skeptic and Denier? — Fact Check
In March 2021, John Magufuli, the former president of Tanzania died. He was generally portrayed by the western media as the controversial, autocratic and populist leader. However, for those who knew him well, Magufuli was a pan-African leader who endeared millions of Tanzanians and attracted the attention of the world in his fight against corruption and unfair western investments in Africa. He fought the poverty of his people by expanding social services and investing in large-scale and strategic infrastructural projects aimed at creating industrial economy. Despite these achievements, he divided opinions of the world about him ranging from matters on democracy to covid-19. With regard to covid-19, for instance, the western media assisted with journalists in Nairobi labeled Magufuli differently with names such as “the president who defies science and believes in prayers and herbal remedies for fighting covid-19”, and “the most Covid-19 skeptic and denier”. The question is did these labels correctly portray Magufuli’s words and stance on covid-19? Those who were in Tanzania and who listened to his full (not filtered) speeches will always wonder why his words and his covid-19 stance were not understood or purposefully twisted. Let’s see the facts in the ground (Tanzania) while responding to claims against Magufuli:
Was Magufuli the denier or skeptic of covid-19? — This is not true based on what actually happened. Magufuli considered Covid-19 seriously and took all necessary measures to control it. Even before coronavirus was found in Tanzania, Magufuli asked Tanzania to take all precautions against the deadly disease. The photo showing him and Seif Hamad (the former vice-president of Zanzibar) exercising social distance became popular in international media. Magufuli formed and supervised national covid-19 committee which, at one point, closed schools, airports and sport activities, and so many other actions.
Therefore, it is not fair to say that Magufuli denied covid-19. Even in his last public speech, he asked Tanzanians to take precautions against covid-19. Nevertheless, Magufuli was skeptic of covid-19 testing tools and vaccines. As reported throughout the world he proved through a small research that the tools could provide similar results when testing other fluids (e.g. pawpaw) other than human blood. Hence they were not reliable. He was also cautious in allowing covid-19 vaccines to his people. He was recently proved right when some countries in Europe and Africa, despite all the assurance from WHO, suspended the use of the covid-19 vaccines after discovering that they cause blood clotting in patients’ lungs.
Magufuli relied on Prayers only to fight covid-19 — Again facts are against this claim. Magufuli formed a covid-19 committee and guided it day and night in educating the Tanzanians about the disease and taking all possible precautions in Tanzanian context to avoid the disease. On top of that Magufuli asked Tanzanians to ask God’s help since he believed human efforts are always limited and God doesn’t only work when there are no problems but experienced better when the problem is big. He stood out there and refused to deny his God and God answered his prayers. He was proven right by the outcomes.
Did Magufuli defy Science? — This is also not true. Magufuli strongly believed in science in fighting covid-19. For instance, on May 1st, 2020 he urged experts from National Institute of Medical Research and universities to conduct a joint research aimed at finding ways to control the spread of the disease and to cure it. They did so and proposed “nutritious formulas” that helped to rapidly reduce coronavirus cases, and Tanzania (by then for about 6 months) was “free” from covid-19. On top of that Magufuli asked Tanzanians to use herbal remedies that were proved useful in preventing and even curing covid-19. This included inhaling ‘herbal’ steam.
Magufuli didn’t impose lockdown! — Yes this true. Every Tanzanian thanked him for this. How long would people be locked down without food and other needs obtained through their daily wages? Magufuli knew the virus would be here for years and people can’t be locked down for years. He was proved right by events in Europe and America. Lockdowns were lifted even before the virus was not yet controlled. Lockdown in these countries didn’t help to reduce the number of deaths or cases. Moreover, Magufuli was also not happy with the idea that people are locked and are fed by money borrowed from western financial institutions. He asked the World Bank to provide interest-free loans to help poor nations like Tanzania to curb the virus but they refused. Hence everything seemed like lockdown was the project to raise money.
Magufuli refused to close churches! — This is true. As noted earlier he believed in God’s help. What is most important however to note is the religious leaders have taken covid-19 more seriously than the government officials. The catholic churches, for instance, are the safest areas as far as covid-19 prevention is concerned. The faithful wash hands using sanitized water before entering the churches and when leaving. Moreover, social distancing (when the number of cases was high) was observed and anybody who suffered from flu or cold was excused from attending the mass service. Again all other countries closed worshiping places. Did covid-19 slow down because of that? It slowed down in Tanzania. Hence there is no way one can blame Magufuli for an approach that didn’t work in his/her country but worked in Tanzania.
Magufuli refused to cooperate with WHO– It is true. Sometimes one wonders whether WHO is there for helping or for frustrating people. At one moment, predicted that hundreds of thousands of Tanzania would be infected and so many will be found in streets dead! This wasn’t something to say when people are fighting covid-19. Moreover, announcing cases caused panic and more deaths. The government decided to fight the disease like any other disease. Magufuli argued that there are more deaths due to Malaria and other diseases in Tanzania than those caused by covid-19. The government never before informed the public the number of deaths of other diseases. Why should it be different with covid-19? Above all Magufuli and Tanzanians did not trust face masks, covid-19 testing tools, and vaccines from abroad. It was noted through some media, justifying Magufuli’s concerns, that some of covid-19 facilities were contaminated with the virus. And WHO didn’t say anything about it. Magufuli also was not a person to be pushed around. He believed in his medical experts and scientists and wanted to be sure every decision he made was safe for Tanzanians. He compared Covid-19 withthe war — economic war. The pressure of WHO therefore was not welcomed by Magufuli given that a lot was said about covid-19 and nothing was certain.
Mama Samia has to overturn Magufuli’s decisions on Covid-19! — The new president is already under the pressure of the western media to imitate western procedures on Covid-19! It is not clear what the West wants Mama Samia (the new president) to do? Is it saying God and prayers can’t prevent covid-19? Do they want Mama Samia to impose lockdown now? Or they want her to disclose the number of coronavirus cases and deaths? It is very unlikely that Mama Samia will take a different path from what her predecessor took. Mama Samia most likely will continue considering covid-19 like any other disease but will surely increase collective efforts to control it and promote preventive measures like social distancing and wearing safety masks without affecting the day-to-day socio-economic activities of her people. It is not expected that Mama Samia will impose a lockdown in Tanzania. It is very unlikely. That is something that Tanzanians don’t want to hear. She won’t also close worshiping places or deny God’s help in controlling the disease. Like Magufuli she is a devout believer. Tanzanians also believe in God and loved Magufuli for that.