Fears of coronavirus cover-up grow in Tanzania as videos show night burials

Fears are mounting that the Tanzanian government is covering up the country’s true Covid-19 death count.

Six videos seen by The Telegraph show dead bodies on Tanzanian streets, although their content has not been verified.

Other videos have also emerged on social media showing nighttime burials with tight security and men wearing full protective gear.

Hospitals are reportedly overflowing with coronavirus patients and three members of parliament have died in the space of 11 days. At least one MP had tested positive for coronavirus before their death.

3 Tanzanian MPs dead in 11 days, cases spike, as pressure mounts on President

Opposition politicians and activists have accused the government of a coverup and said it is not taking the pandemic seriously enough.

“I don’t want to feel like the government is hiding something…Right now, we are witnessing a lot of mourning, burials and dead bodies everywhere,” said opposition leader Zitto Kabwe.

The government has recorded 480 cases of coronavirus and 16 deaths as of Wednesday. However, it is not releasing regular updates on confirmed cases.

President Magufuli is one of the few global leaders still downplaying the seriousness of the virus. Despite international warnings, Tanzania is one of the few countries in Africa that has not taken strong lockdown measures to stop the virus spreading. Schools and universities have been shut but everything else carries on largely as normal.

Yesterday is a bizarre live address president Magufuli questioned his country’s coronavirus numbers, and called on the authorities to investigate “sabotage” at the national laboratory.

The president said he had secretly tested a variety of animals and fruits — including swabs from a goat and papaya fruit — and they had come back positive.

According to the President: “That means there is [a] possibility for technical errors or these imported reagents have issues. Probably, the technicians are also bought to mislead.”

Magufuli announced that Tanzania would send a plane to pick up shipments of “Covid-Organics”, an unproven herbal drink which is being touted by Madagascar’s government as a ‘cure’ for Covid-19.

The opposition has told its MPs to stop going to parliament in case they get infected. However, Magufuli has dismissed concerns, saying they are being used by “imperialists.”