Why some African nations opt to hide medical reports of ailing presidents

In Africa’s ever-expanding democratic space, nothing has been more static than the secrecy of information regarding the health of its leaders, the latest being President John Pombe Magufuli of Tanzania.

President John Pombe Magufuli of Tanzania.

So much so that anything more serious than a cold afflicting the person of a country’s president is hidden from the public, often invoking long hibernation spells that leave the citizens speculating for days on end.

But in this era of social media, what happens in one corner of Africa becomes a live concern everywhere. The myth of “internal affairs” and ‘sovereignty” was long shattered by advances in technology.