Covid-19 denial
Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, Tanzania’s John Pombe Magufuli always maintained the disease was not in the country. He urged residents to ignore directives from the World Health Organization (WHO) on how to protect themselves against the virus and instead asked them to pray against it.
The Chemistry teacher went ahead to pick on other countries for imposing lockdowns and other measures in place to contain the virus. Even during his campaigns for a second term in office, when the virus was at its peak, Magufuli and his CCM party did not adhere to protocols set by WHO. When the vaccine for the virus was developed, Magufuli urged his residents to pray, rely on steam and other traditional means to fight it. “You should stand firm. Vaccinations are dangerous,” he was quoted saying.
However, in a change of heart on February 21, 2021, while attending a Church service in Dar es Salaam, he acknowledged the virus and its dangers. “Tanzanians should take caution and use masks made in the country including those of the country’s medical board because there is doubt about the efficacy of masks from other countries,” he told the congregation.
Pregnant schoolgirls ban
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This is perhaps what most people remember Magufuli for. According to the BBC, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi party (CCM), while campaigning in 2015 for what would be Magufuli’s first term in office, promised to reverse the policy that bans pregnant school girls from resuming studies. A 2002 regulation terms the matter “offense against morality” which has seen the mandatory testing for pregnancy for school-going girls and their expulsion if found pregnant as per the…