He denied coronavirus, it killed him - Tanzania opposition leader on president's death

Exiled Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu says the country has been offered an opportunity to "chart a new course and step back from the brink of disaster," following the death of President Magufuli.

Lissu, who was at the forefront of reports surrounding the health of the president in the last two weeks told the BBC that the late leader's "politics, policies and Covid denialism" had "driven the country towards disaster."

In another interview with Kenyan media outlet KTN, he insisted that Magufuli had died of COVID-19 and not heart attack as the government had officially put out.

“The only thing that surprises me is the fact they continued to lie, even now his government continues to lie.

"Magufuli died of corona, that’s one. Two, Magufuli did not die this [Wednesday] evening…I have information from the same sources that Magufuli had [already] been dead,” Mr Lissu told KTN.

In a series of tweets since last week, he alleged that the president had been airlifted first to Kenya and onward to India for medical treatment.

He later cited impeccable intelligence sources that he said had informed him that the president was partially paralysed at a point and had been put on life support.

Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan is currently acting president and is due to be sworn in as president to serve the remaining tenure of her late boss. Tanzania declared 14-days of national mourning.