Tanzania's President John Pombe Magufuli is dead.
News of his death was announced by the country's Vice President Samia Hassan Suluhu who noted that he succumbed to complications of the heart.
According to Suluhu, Magufuli was admitted at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute in Tanzania on March 6, and had been receiving treatment until March 17, 2021 when he passed on.
"Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania Mheshimiwa Dr. John Pombe Magufuli amefariki kutokana na maradhi ya moyo," Suluhu announced.
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The vice president announced that there will be 14 days of national mourning and flags will fly at half-mast.
Magufuli's death comes after weeks of speculation on his whereabouts after he disappeared from the public.
Opposition politicians had indicated that Magufuli contracted Covid-19 and sought medication in Kenya, but the government has not confirmed the claims.
Magufuli was born on October 29, 1959, in Chato, north-western Tanzania, and has been in office since 2015 as the fifth president.
He was married to Janeth Magufuli with whom they had five children.
