FIVE brigadier generals in Tanzania have lost lives due to Coronavirus in the span of two weeks, despite President John Magufuli’s denialism of the pandemic. Magufuli has been insisting that Tanzania is corona-free since June 2020 when he ordered his government to stop tracking COVID-19 infections.
It has been revealed that in just 13 days, senior members of the Tanzania People’s Defense Force (TPDF) lost their lives after developing all significant symptoms of the pandemic – chest tightness, shortness of breath, high fever, loss of sense of smell and headache.
It is still forbidden to mention Coronavirus as the cause of death in Tanzania. For the sake of political convenience, the authorities have been issuing statements to refute any stories of Corona-related deaths.
Doctors in Tanzania have been barred from affirming the presence of Coronavirus and that even when a patient dies, their death certificates usually mention acute pneumonia or respiratory challenges.
But some of them have confirmed to SAUTI KUBWA that many patients are dying on an alarming rate in hospitals due to COVID-19.
The soldiers, all retired, include Brigadier General Emmanuel Maganga who passed away on January 22, 2021 at Mirambo Military Hospital in Tabora where he was receiving medical treatment. He was buried in his hometown, Turiani, Morogoro on January 25. After retiring from military service, he was appointed the Kigoma Regional Commissioner.
One week after Maganga’s death, Brigadier General Martin Likubuka Mwankanye passed away on January 29, while undergoing treatment at Lugalo Central Military Hospital, Dar es Salaam. He was buried in Kibisi Village, Rungwe District, Mbeya on February 01, 2021.
One day after Mwankanye’s death, Brigadier General Matata Juma Mang’wamba was pronounced dead on January 30, 2021 while receiving treatment at Cardinal Lugambwa Hospital, Ukonga, Dar es Salaam. He was buried at the Kisutu Cemetery, Dar es Salaam, on February 01, 2021.
A day after Mang’wamba’s death, Brigadier General Abdallah Mwemnjudi died at Lugalo General Military Hospital, Dar es Salaam and was buried on February 4, at Kibindu Village, Handeni District, Tanga. He had served as the Operating and Training Officer of the Tanzania Navy.
Only a day before the burial of the Mwemnjudi, Brigadier General Ezra Wilson Ndimgwango, a former Chief of Staff of TPDF, passed away on February 03, 2021 at Lugalo Central Military Hospital, Dar es Salaam. He was buried in the ‘Air wing,’ Ukonga cemetery, on February 06, 2021.
In addition to the senior officers of the army, another fighter, Colonel Faustine Itangaja, died on January 22, at the Muhimbili National Hospital and was buried at his home in Makongo, Dar es Salaam, on January 28. He served as Chief of Army Staff (MP) within the TPDF.
Another officer, a senior officer in the Prisons Service, the deputy commissioner, Julius Sang’uti died on January 20, 2021 at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Dodoma. He was buried on January 23, 2021 in Ikulilo-Mwandete Village in Simiyu Region.
During the same period, the legal profession also suffered a major catastrophe after nine lawyers died within 40 days.
Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) President Dr. Rugemeleza Nshala said more than 10 members have died within 45 days from late December last year, 2020 to the beginning of February, this year.
Tanzania, along with North Korea are the only countries in the world that hide information about the Corona pandemic. Its leaders – President John Magufuli and his counterpart, Kim Jong Un – deny the existence of the virus, while imposing stringent rules on anyone who asserts anything about COVID-19 that continues to kill millions of people.
The two leaders are also against the Corona vaccine, without any plausible or scientific explanation.
