Coronavirus sceptic Tanzanian President John Magufuli ‘moved to India for Covid-19 treatment’

Opposition leader Tundu Lissu said the 61-year-old had been transferred from hospital in Kenya to India and was in a coma

Magufuli, who played down the threat from Covid-19, has not been seen in public for nearly two weeks

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Tanzanian President John Magufuli. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:10pm, 11 Mar 2021Updated: 2:19am, 12 Mar 2021

Tanzania’s main opposition leader said on Thursday that President John Magufuli, an avowed Covid-19 sceptic out of public view for nearly two weeks, is in India receiving medical treatment for the virus and is in a serious condition.

Tundu Lissu, who lost last year’s election to Magufuli, cited medical and security sources in Kenya for his information that the president had been transferred from hospital in Kenya to India and was in a coma – but did not provide evidence.

Tanzanian government spokesmen have stayed mum during days of speculation over the 61-year-old Magufuli’s whereabouts and health. Representatives of Kenya’s and India’s governments also have not given information either.

In power since 2015 and nicknamed “The Bulldozer”, Magufuli was last seen on February 27 looking his normal robust self during a ceremony at State House in Dar es Salaam.

Lissu said that Magufuli was flown to Kenya’s Nairobi Hospital at the start of this week and then on to an unknown destination in India. “He’s [been] comatose since yesterday morning,” he said, without elaborating.