Magufuli leaves complex, contested, controversial legacy - Tanzanian journalist

Tanzania's former president John Joseph Pombe Magufuli leaves behind a contested, controversial, complex and complicated legacy in the East African country.

This is the view of Khalifa Said, a freelance investigative journalist based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He spoke to GhanaWeb in an exclusive interview on the aftermath of Magufuli's death.

"Magufuli leaves behind a contested type of legacy, a complicated one, a controversial, very complex kind of legacy that cannot be broken into one sentence or a phrase.

"And this is because of the nature of the type of leadership that Magufuli showed in the period of not more than six years that he has been in power," Khalifah noted.

"Magufuli is viewed differently by different groups of people," he added stressing how a group saw him as a nationalistic hero, anti-corruption advocate, disciplinarian and one who chased big companies that were shortchanging the country.

Others on the other hand suffered from suppression of fundamental rights and freedoms, especially in the area of freedom of expression and assembly.

Khalifa stressed that political pluralism and tolerance suffered under the Magufuli era citing instances of arbitrary arrests and daylight shooting of opposition activists in unresolved cases.

Magufuli's death was announced Wednesday evening (March 17) by his deputy Samia Suluhu Hassan.

He died of heart complications according to Suluhu, who has since been sworn in as the new president.

A weeklong funeral saw his cortege sent around the country for citizens to pay their final respects ahead of today's final funeral and burial in his hometown of Chato.