John Pombe Joseph Magufuli was the fifth President of Tanzania, serving from 2015 until his death in 2021. He served as Minister of Works, Transport and Communications from 2000 to 2005 and 2010 to 2015 and was chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2019 to 2020. First elected as a Member of Parliament in 1995, he served in the Cabinet of Tanzania as Deputy Minister of Works from 1995 to 2000.
He then served as Minister of Works from 2000 to 2005, Minister of Lands and Human Settlement from 2006 to 2008, Minister of Livestock and Fisheries from 2008 to 2010, and as Minister of Works for a second time from 2010 to 2015. Running as the candidate of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the country’s dominant party, Magufuli won the October 2015 presidential election and was sworn in on 5 November 2015; he was re-elected in 2020.
He ran on a platform of reducing government corruption and spending while also investing in Tanzania’s industries, but his rule had autocratic tendencies, as seen in restrictions on freedom of speech, restrictions on LGBT rights, and a crackdown on members of the political opposition and civil society groups. Under his presidency, Tanzania experienced one of the strongest economic growths on the continent (6% on average per year) and moved from the category of low-income countries to middle-income countries.
Contrary to leaders elsewhere in the world, Magufuli ordered COVID-19 testing to stop and resisted calls to implement public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania. He also expressed distrust of American- and European-developed vaccines, preferring to rely on faith to protect his nation. Magufuli’s approach has been characterised as COVID-19 denialism. His death on 17 March 2021 was attributed by the government to a long-standing heart issue.
Some of the best quotes from John Magufuli are listed below.
- “Coronavirus cannot survive in the body of Christ, it will burn. That is exactly why I did not panic while taking the Holy communion.” – John Magufuli
- “Coronavirus, which is a devil, cannot survive in the body of Christ… It will burn instantly.” – John Magufuli
- “I don’t see any need for birth control in Tanzania.” – John Magufuli
- “I know that those who like to block ovaries will complain about my remarks. Set your ovaries free, let them block theirs.” – John Magufuli
- “I want to thank Tanzanians of all faiths. We have been praying and fasting for God to save us from the pandemic that has afflicted our country and the world. But God has answered us. I believe, and I’m certain many Tanzanians believe the corona disease has been eliminated by God.” – John Magufuli
- “I want you Tanzanians to believe that you have a real president, a real rock. I cannot be threatened and I am not threatened.” – John Magufuli
- “I would like to tell media owners – be careful, watch it. If you think you have that kind of freedom, [it is] not to that extent.” – John Magufuli
- “I’m telling government officers who are lazy and negligent to be prepared. They were tolerated for a long time. This is the end.” – John Magufuli
- “If wisdom prevails, we will pass through this situation in a peaceful manner.” – John Magufuli
- “In a certain country, its girl children – aged below 14 years – were vaccinated against what was said to be cervical cancer, but it later emerged that the vaccination was meant to make them infertile.” – John Magufuli
- “It is possible this is another test but with God we will win. Let’s not scare each other because we will not overcome… God cannot forsake this nation.” – John Magufuli
- “It’s now time for us to unite and put our ideological differences aside, I will work hard for all Tanzanians regardless of their tribal, religious or ideological affiliations.” – John Magufuli
- “My government will put emphasis on fighting corruption, job creation and industrialisation.” – John Magufuli
- “No pregnant student will be allowed to return to school… After getting pregnant, you are done.” – John Magufuli
- “One day you will remember me… I know one day you will remember me, not for bad things but for the good deeds… because I have sacrificed my life for the poor in Tanzania.” – John Magufuli
- “Our founding father [Julius Nyerere] was not someone to be directed to be told what to do… Those who devise these kinds of rules [lockdown] are used to making these directives that our founding father refused.” – John Magufuli
- “Our home was grass thatched and like many boys I was assigned to herd cattle, as well as selling milk and fish to support my family, I know what it means to be poor. I will strive to help improve people’s welfare.” – John Magufuli
- “So many times, I have insisted that not everything that you are given is good. There could be people being used, that equipment could be used… but it could also be sabotage because this is warfare.” – John Magufuli
- “The CCM is here and will continue to be here – forever. Members of the CCM, you can walk with your heads held high. There is no alternative to the CCM.” – John Magufuli
- “The Health Ministry must know that not every vaccination is meaningful to our nation. Tanzanians must be mindful so that we are not used for trials of some doubtful vaccinations which can have serious repercussions on our health.” – John Magufuli
- “The Ministry of Health should be careful, they should not hurry to try these vaccines without doing research, not every vaccine is important to us, we should be careful. We should not be used as ‘guinea pigs’.” – John Magufuli
- “The thing that makes you happy about their [Chinese] aid is that it is not tied to any conditions. When they decide to give you, they just give you. They have helped us in a lot of other areas of development.” – John Magufuli
- “The way to treat a boil is to squeeze it out, and I have made it my responsibility to do that. I know squeezing out a boil hurts but unfortunately there are no two ways about it.” – John Magufuli
- “The way to treat a boil is to squeeze it out, and I have made it my responsibility to do that. I know squeezing out a boil hurts but unfortunately there are no two ways about it.” – John Magufuli
- “These Holy places are where God is. My fellow Tanzanians, let us not be afraid of going to praise Him.” – John Magufuli
- “Those going for family planning are lazy … they are afraid they will not be able to feed their children. They do not want to work hard to feed a large family and that is why they opt for birth controls and end up with one or two children only.” – John Magufuli
- “We have been praying and fasting for God to save us from the pandemic… and I’m certain many Tanzanians believe the corona disease has been eliminated by God.” – John Magufuli
- “We have had a number of viral diseases, including Aids and measles. Our economy must come first. It must not sleep… Life must go on… Countries [elsewhere] in Africa will be coming here to buy food in the years to come… they will be suffering because of shutting down their economy.” – John Magufuli
- “We have lived for over one year without the virus because our God is able and Satan will always fail. The Health Ministry should be cautious, and avoid the temptation to turn us into a country where vaccination trials are conducted freely.” – John Magufuli
- “We need to be careful because some of these donations to fight coronavirus could be used to transmit the virus. I want to urge you Tanzanians not to accept donations of masks, instead tell the donors to go and use them with their wives and children.” – John Magufuli
- “When you have a big population, you build the economy. That’s why China’s economy is so huge.” – John Magufuli
- “You cannot talk of preserving environment when the majority of the citizens are depending on charcoal or wood for most of their energy source.” – John Magufuli
- “You should stand firm. Vaccinations are dangerous. If the white man was able to come up with vaccinations, he should have found a vaccination for Aids by now; he would have found a vaccination of tuberculosis by now; he would have found a vaccination for malaria by now; he would have found a vaccination for cancer by now.” – John Magufuli
