John Pombe Joseph Magufuli[2] (29 October 1959 – 17 March 2021) was the fifth president of Tanzania, serving from 2015 until his death in 2021. He served as Minister of Works, Transport and Communications from 2000 to 2005 and 2010 to 2015 and was chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2019 to 2020.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli has disclosed rare details about his wedding with his wife Janeth Magufuli which took place at Dar Es Salaam University over two decades ago.
The 59-year-old former school teacher revealed that he did not wear a suit and neither did he have a wedding ring by the time he exchanged nuptials with the love of his life.
“Tena siku nafunga ndoa Padri alininunulia pete na akatununulia soda mimi nikanywa Pepsi mwenzangu alikunywa Mirinda,” he said.
A devout Catholic with a corruption-free reputation, the father of five added that: “Tofauti na ndoa mlizo zizoea, mimi sikuvaa koti na wala mke wangu hakuvaa shela lakini tulifunga ndoa.”
Very little is known about Magufuli’s marriage life although it is clear that his wife, Janeth is a teacher at Mbuyuni Primary School located in Dar es Salaam.
Former First Lady Salma Kikwete also used to teach at the same Primary school.
Under his presidency, Tanzania experienced one of the strongest economic growths on the continent (6% on average per year according to the IMF) and moved from the category of lower-low income countries to lower-middle income countries.
