This archive report was first published on 12 November 2019.
On November 12, 2019, President John Magufuli shared a shocking account of how he survived poisoning in Dodoma, Tanzania, during his tenure as deputy minister between 1995 and 2000.
Magufuli attributed his close call to a lesson he learned from former President Benjamin Mkapa, who had praised him for his remarkable performance. Magufuli said, “I learnt a lesson not to praise civil servants even on their remarkable performance so that they don’t experience what I went through after former president (Benjamin) Mkapa praised me.”
The incident was recalled by Magufuli during the launch of Mkapa’s autobiography, My Life, My Purpose: A Tanzanian President Remembers, in Dar es Salaam.
The event brought together all living former presidents of Tanzania, including Jakaya Kikwete and Ali Hassan Mwinyi, as well as high-ranking government officials.
