John Magufuli

John Magufuli Full Name: John Pombe Magufuli Alias: The Bulldozer Origin: Chato, Tanganyika, Occupation: President of Tanzania (2015-2021) Skills: Political power Goals: Win the 2015 election (succeeded) Curb government spending and corruption in Tanzania (succeeded) Crimes: Human rights abuses Unlawful detention Homophobia Extortion Repressing opposition Vaccine denialism Type of Villain: Oppressive President

“	Those who teach such things do not like us, brothers. They brought us drugs and homosexual practices that even cows disapprove of.	„
	~ John Magufuli

John Pombe Magufuli (October 29, 1959 - March 17, 2021) was the fifth president of Tanzania, serving as both head of state and head of government from 2015 until his death in 2021. 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, Minister of Works from 2000 to 2006, 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.

Magufuli was criticized by many for repressing opposition to his government, despite Tanzania being a democracy, and committing various human rights violations against gay people in Tanzania. However, he had a relatively favorable public image in his country. The enraged cry that it was "shameful" to spend huge sums of money on celebrations when "our people are dying of cholera," he said. Despite his accusations, he publicly condemned the attempted assassination of opponent Tundu Lissu.

Magufuli said in a January 2021 speech: "Vaccinations are dangerous. If white people were able to come up with vaccinations, a vaccination for AIDS would have been found." Instead, Magufuli urged steam inhalation and herbal medicine, neither of which is approved by the WHO for the treatment of COVID-19. On Wednesday the 17th of March, 2021, Magufuli died of heart disease at a hospital in Dar es Salaam. He had not been seen in public for two weeks, leading to speculation that he was ill. He was 61 years old.

Villainy

• Magufuli was homophobic; citizens of Tanzania convicted of having gay sex face up to thirty years in prison. Tanzania also saw a crackdown against gay people in 2018, with the government shutting down US-funded programs that provided HIV testing to gay people and deporting many gay rights activists.
• His government was accused of suppressing the opposition in the country due to an incident where six TV channels were threatened with closure for not paying government license fees.
• A plane bought by Magufuli's government was impounded in Canada due to their failure to pay government debts.
• Many journalists and opposition figures were arrested in Tanzania for criticizing Magufuli. These included chief opposition whip Tundu Lissu and comedian Idris Sultan.
• After opposition member Tundu Lissu complained that he was being followed by the secret service, he was shot by four unidentified attackers and is still in hospital in Belgium. This came just weeks after his arrest for criticizing the regime.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, Magufuli faced international criticism for his handling of the disease. He refused to take preventative measures against the disease and encouraged people to simply pray for deliverance, hiding in his second home to avoid interviews. This led to accusations of COVID denialism from opposition journalists.
• Also during the pandemic, Magufuli arrested any journalists who criticised his handling of the virus.
• He was friendly with Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame.