President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the late Tanzanian President, John Pombe Magufuli, as a respected leader and champion of African development. <\/p>\n
In his tribute, President Ramaphosa said President Magufuli\u2019s passing has been felt across the region and the continent. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe family of nations of Africa are today mourning the passing of one of their own, an esteemed leader of his people and a tireless champion of the cause of African progress,\u201d he said during his tribute at the Official State Funeral on Monday.<\/p>\n
President Ramaphosa jetted off to Dodoma, the national capital of Tanzania, to attend the funeral.<\/p>\n
President Magufuli passed away on Wednesday, 17 March 2021, in a Dar es Salaam hospital. He was 61.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn behalf of the government and people of South Africa, please accept our deepest sympathies and condolences,\u201d said the President.<\/p>\n
President Ramaphosa recalled over a year-and-a-half ago, when he visited Dodoma at the invitation of President Magufuli for a State visit and to attend the 39th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI recall the warmth with which we were received, and the determination of President Magufuli to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation between our two countries,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
According to the First Citizen, this was when President Magufuli outlined his vision for the development of Tanzania, the region and the continent.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we lay our dear brother to rest, we should resolve to pursue that vision, to build an Africa of peace, justice, progress and inclusive prosperity.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs South Africans, we will forever regard Tanzania as our home away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shifting to his focus to the darkest moments of the struggle against apartheid, President Ramaphosa said Tanzania gave South Africans shelter, sustenance and support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe owe so much of our freedom to the generosity and the sacrifices of the people of Tanzania. It is this shared past that makes us, as South Africans, feel the loss of President Magufuli all the more deeply and all the more personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
The President said the East African country has lost a father and brother, while Africa has lost a visionary leader, and South Africa a dear friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay the people of this wonderful land find peace and comfort in the difficult days ahead. May the legacy of John Pombe Magufuli live on,\u201d said President Ramaphosa. \u2013 SAnews.gov.za<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the late Tanzanian President, John Pombe Magufuli, as a respected leader and champion of African development. In his tribute, President Ramaphosa said President Magufuli\u2019s passing has been felt across the region and the continent. \u201cThe family of nations of Africa are today mourning the passing of one of their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[38678],"class_list":{"0":"post-184142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-sanews","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184142\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}