Tanzania's 'missing' president partially paralyzed, on life support - Opposition chief alleges

Tanzania president John Pombe Magufuli is partially paralyzed and on life support, an exiled opposition leader has alleged in a Twitter post.

According to Lissu, his sources in the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service, TISS, had informed him that the president's condition was worsening.

"VP Samia suggested today that the Dictator is sick somewhere. My own sources in TISS say he’s on life support with COVID and paralyzed on one side and from the waist down after a stroke. Tell the people the truth!" Lissu wrote in a tweet posted today, March 15.

Government has officially debunked claims that the president was sick after Lissu tweeted last week that Magufuli had been evacuated to Kenya and onward to India.

Magufuli has not been seen since late February and rumours continue to fester despite Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa disclosing that the president was healthy and working hard in his office as at close of last week.

A man has meanwhile been arrested by police over the weekend on charges of spreading false information about the president's health.

Lissu, who lost the October 2020 presidential election to Magufuli, did not comment on the president's current location on the back of his tweets of last week that he was not in the country.

Lissu lives in Belgium after a government crackdown on opposition politicians who were calling for peaceful protests over alleged massive voting irregularities.

Rather than provide credible answers to legitimate questions, the Dictatorship has detained Tito Augustino Kiliwa of Mufindi District in Iringa for posting reports of the Dictator’s widely reported illness on Facebook. Tell the people the truth! Release Tito Augustino Kiliwa! pic.twitter.com/AOTRgvV6Vf

— Tundu Antiphas Lissu (@TunduALissu) March 15, 2021