South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday sent condolences to Tanzania following the death of President John Magufuli at a hospital in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
Ramaphosa said he had phoned Tanzanian Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan to express his condolences and that of fellow South Africans in the passing of the late Magufuli.
“South Africa is united in grief with the government and people of Tanzania as they go through this difficult moment,” Ramaphosa said.
Magufuli, aged 61, died Wednesday morning following heart disease complications after a two-week stay at the hospital, according to Hassan when she announced the president’s death on national television on Wednesday night.
Magufuli served as the fifth president of Tanzania, chairing the 16-member Southern African Development Community grouping between August 2019 and August 2020.
The vice president has since declared a 14-day mourning period for the late outspoken leader who refused to order coronavirus vaccines for the country while advising his people to pray against the Covid-19 pandemic to go away.
NM/jn/APA