Mama Maria Nyerere emerges to refute death rumours

Dar es Salaam. “I am alive and kicking.” Those were the words of Mama Maria Nyerere, the widow of Father of the Nation  Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, when she came out yesterday to denounce the romours suggesting that she is dead.

Claims that Mama Maria had died were circulated on the social media on Monday and caused some panic in the country before she set the record straight at night through the national television.

Yesterday she addressed reporters at her Msasani home in Dar es Salaaam, speaking for more than an hour to show she was as fit as a fiddle.  She said she learnt of the news through her daughter-in-law who called at around 11am on Monday.  She said she also received many other calls from relatives who inquired about  her health.

“But none of them was courageous to tell me about the false news of my death that were circulating on the social media. “Everyone, who called me before my daughter just said they only wanted to say hello,” she explained, adding that she didn’t panic because she is a religious person.

“Because I always pray and believe in God, I wasn’t shocked by the news as that is the work of the devil, which has, however, been defeated,” she said.

According to Mama Maria, her relatives and Butiama residents, who were expecting her, were shocked by the supposed news of her passing. She was due to travel on Monday but cancelled the trip due to an appointment with her doctor yesterday.

She pleaded with Tanzanians not to circulate information which is not verified because they create unnecessary panic among the public.