Magufuli's leadership was not bad after all

Last salute during requiem mass for the late John Pombe Magufuli in Chato. [Courtesy]

I was definitely wrong about Magufuli. As I watched the genuine outpouring of grief across Tanzania, I wondered if we would witness similar grief if our leaders departed prematurely. It made me rethink my earlier assessment of Magufuli.

Shakespeare’s most famous eulogy comes to mind and I recall Mark Antony’s speech at Julius Caesar’s funeral: "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them. The good is often interred with their bones. So, let it be with Caesar."