DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania was in mourning Thursday over the sudden death of President John Magufuli, an authoritarian leader and Covid sceptic who leaves behind a divided legacy and a question mark over his fatal illness.

Flags flew at half-mast as the country began a 14-day mourning period after Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced Magufuli had died Wednesday of a “heart condition” in a hospital in Dar es Salaam.

Under Tanzania’s constitution, Hassan should become the country’s first female president and will finish Magufuli’s five-year term, ruling until 2025.

The government had previously denied Magufuli was ill as pressure mounted to explain his almost three-week absence from public view, which sparked rumours he was seeking treatment abroad for coronavirus.

Several people were arrested this week for spreading rumours over his ill-health on social media.