The former president of Tanzania, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, has been admitted to the hospital for medical treatment, Mohamed Hashim, the Deputy Director of Presidential Communication at State House Zanzibar, shared on Friday a statement from Mwinyi's family.
Mwinyi, who is currently 98 years old, is undergoing medical treatment for a chest disease and is under the close supervision of doctors.
The family asked for privacy and prayers for the ex-president during these challenging times.
“With advice from his doctors, the family has decided that it is good that he gets privacy while receiving treatment. The family asks the public to pray for him,” wrote the family's spokesperson.
Mwinyi's ten-year presidency was characterized by liberalization in the areas of politics and economics.
In an effort to move away from socialism and obtain more foreign funding, Mwinyi began working with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Free media emerged, opposition political parties were legalized, and independent social groups prospered under his rule, according to Bruce Heilman, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
In his article, the scholar also pointed out that the “new openness exposed strains.” There was a visible eruption of simmering Zanzibar nationalism, along with tensions between the large communities of Muslims and Christians. Tanzania's African ethnic groups experienced a rise in regionalism and tribalism, albeit not as much as in the politically charged ethnic identities of its neighbors.
By the end of Mwinyi's presidency, as Heilman wrote, the state's economic management deteriorated, and donors resumed withholding critical assistance.