Tanzania held a state funeral on Saturday for former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who was laid to rest in his home village of Mangapwani in Zanzibar, two days after passing away at age 96.
It comes after two days of mourning and burial preparation.
Mwinyi, Tanzania’s second president from 1985 to 1995, was buried next to his son Ali Mwinyi, who died in August 2022.
Islamic prayers were conducted as Mwinyi’s body was lowered into the grave, in accordance with Islamic burial practices, with religious leaders conducting prayers as he was laid to rest.
Mufti Abubakar Zubeir bin Ally had lead the prayers, known as “Salat al-Janazah”, as a fundamental component of Islamic funeral rites at the Kinondoni Grand Mosque in Dar es Salaam on Friday.
After which the body was taken to Uhuru Stadium for government officials, diplomats, and wananchi to pay their last respects to the former president.
The body was flown to Zanzibar for a national burial on Saturday, which will be led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Saturday.
Current President Hassan led mourners as dignitaries like Kenyan President William Ruto. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame offered condolences.
“On behalf of the government, I would like to convey my condolences to the family, relatives, friends and all Tanzanians for this loss,” President Hassan said.
She announced Mwinyi’s death on Thursday, saying he had been undergoing treatment for lung cancer at a hospital in Dar es Salaam since November.
Earlier on her X page she said: Farewell to our retired President, our leader, reformer, our mentor and our teacher, Ali Hassan Mwinyi.
Mwinyi was remembered for liberalizing Tanzania’s economy after decades of socialism under the nation’s founding father, Julius Nyerere. He also facilitated Uganda’s civil war peace talks in the 1980s.
Citizens turned up en masse to pay respects to the respected leader fondly called “Mzee Rukhsa.”
Authorities had declared a week of national mourning for the former president. Mwinyi’s burial in his coastal Zanzibar village marked the final farewell for a pivotal figure in Tanzania’s post-independence history.
