As Tanzanians prepared to vote in local elections in November, a tragedy struck far from the political fray. Public health expert Dr Faustine Ndugulile, a former deputy minister for Health who had just won a seat as the World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Africa, died in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment.
Ndugulile, 55, died a few months before he was due to take up the post, which would have seen him oversee 47 countries under the WHO's jurisdiction, following his election in August.
It wasn't the only death to hit the Tanzanian public. Many other notable figures have passed away, some at a ripe old age, others cut short in their prime as they prepared to take on new challenges.
A retired judge, John Tendwa died while undergoing treatment at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam. Born in 1946, he had risen to become Tanzania's Registrar of Political Parties, a position he held from 2001 to 2013. As Registrar, he had become synonymous with facilitating or blocking the growth of multiparty politics in the country, as Tanzania only allowed multiple parties in 1995. No wonder opposition groups often accused him of favouring the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
Former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa died on February 10 . He had been hospitalised at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKIC) for lung problems and high blood pressure.
During his lifetime, the former prime minister was forced to resign over what became known as the 'Richmond scandal'. After being a key figure in the CCM, he later defected to the opposition Chadema after losing the presidential ticket to John Magufuli in 2015. He went on to lose the presidential race to Magufuli. Forgotten and desperate, he returned to CCM and buried the hatchet with Magufuli in their final moments (Magufuli died in February 2021).
When he died, however, both sides of the political divide celebrated his legacy.
His death was announced by Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast for seven days.
He served as Tanzania's president for 10 years from 1985 to 1995, succeeding Julius Nyerere. He was buried on March 2 in Mangapwani village, North Unguja region, North B district. Mwinyi was born on May 8, 1925 in Coast Province, mainland Tanzania, but his family later moved to Zanzibar.
Former Defence Forces Commander General David Musuguri died on October 29 at Bugando Referral Hospital in Mwanza city, where he had been taken for treatment.
He had reached the ripe old age of 105. Born in Butiama in 1919, he joined the colonial King's African Rifles in 1942 at the age of 23.
Among the notable African military leaders he worked closely with during the colonial period was the former Kenya Defence Forces Commander Rtd General Jackson Kimeu Mulinge. General Mulinge was the longest-serving head of Kenya's armed forces and also served as Minister of Lands and Health. He died in June 2014 at the age of 91.
The late Musuguri was involved in operations against the Mau Mau in Kenya in the 1950s and worked alongside Idi Amin Dada, who later became Uganda's third president after overthrowing the government in a 1971 coup.
On November 9, Tanzania's Secretary General of the Planning Commission, Lawrence Mafuru, died at the Apollo Hospital in India.
Tanzanians remember him for two important things. According to President Samia Suluhu Hassan, “he saved the country from the challenges of foreign currency shortages such as the dollar. He also laid a solid foundation for the government's development plans.”
