[5] By May 2020, Magufuli and Dar es Salaam regional commissioner Paul Makonda announced that the disease had been defeated by national prayer, and called for a public celebration.

[13] A Kenyan newspaper reported on 10 March 2021 that "an African leader" was being treated for COVID-19 at a hospital in Nairobi, leading to speculation that it could be President Magufuli.

[17] On the night of 17 March 2021, vice-president Samia Suluhu Hassan announced Magufuli had died at 6 p.m. EAT (15:00 UTC) at Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Dar es Salaam, where he was receiving treatment.

[27] The next day, mourners hoping to view his body crowded into the stadium, many climbing a wall, which collapsed, resulting in a human stampede that left at least forty-five people dead.

[30][31] It was attended by presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, Edgar Lungu of Zambia, Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, Azali Assoumani of the Comoros and Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who delivered eulogies at the funeral.

[36] A secretary of Magufuli's Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, Humphrey Polepole, paid homage to him in a tweet, saying that he "fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith".

[37][38][39] Meanwhile, activist Fatma Karume criticised Magufuli's legacy on Twitter, writing that she was "grateful and proud that I kept my HUMANITY even when evil was the order of the day.

[46][47] Also paying tribute were former President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan, Ugandan opposition politician Bobi Wine and Venezuelan minister of foreign affairs Jorge Arreaza.