Coincidence, or not?
A reminder of the fate of the leaders of Burundi, Tanzania and Haiti, all of whom pushed back publicly against the covid narrative
This article is intended to complement recent and forthcoming posts.
As noted in this recent article…
…when I saw these two headlines from last years, only a few days apart…
…I couldn’t help wondering about the chances that the two might be connected.
That also brought to mind what happened in other countries during the covid era…
Burundi
In Spring 2020, Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of Burundi “maintained that God had protected the country, stating that social distancing was unnecessary for Burundi citizens and ordering World Health Organization officials to leave the country.”
In June 2020 he was reported as having “died of a sudden illness” that was “suspected to be [covid]” at the age of 55. Weeks later, the new president “declared the coronavirus the country’s ‘biggest enemy’, in a major about-turn for a nation which has largely ignored the dangers of the virus.”
Here is a comparison of covid deaths per million people in Burundi and the UK (source: Our World in Data):
Even in 2020 and 2021 the number of “daily new confirmed COVID-19 deaths per million people” in Burundi was very close to zero.
I am reminded of covid era memes such as these:
Tanzania
John Magufuli, the President of Tanzania, was reported in January 2021 as pushing back against the covid narrative.
In March 2021, he died, weeks after he “warned officials against acquiring [covid] vaccines saying they could harm people”. The Guardian’s article on his death described him as “covid-denying”. Aged 61, he was the first Tanzanian president to die in office.
Here is a comparison of covid deaths per million people in Tanzania and the UK, demonstrating the scale of the covid that President Magufuli was denying (source: Our World in Data):
Some more memes…1
Haiti
In June 2021, Haiti was reported as being “the Only Country in Western Hemisphere Without Vaccines”, in contrast to its neighbour Dominican Republic which had “inoculated 20% of citizens”. The Haitian government had refused covid vaccines, “citing concerns over adverse side effects like blood clotting associated with the AstraZeneca brand”.
On 7th July 2021, Haiti President Jovenel Moïse was reported as having been “assassinated by [an] ‘armed commando group’”.
Two weeks later, covid vaccines had arrived in Haiti.
Here is a map of the island of Hispaniola, with Haiti in the west, and Dominican Republic in the east:
And here is a comparison of covid deaths per million people in Haiti, Dominican Republic and the UK (source: Our World in Data):
A final set of memes…
As to the fate of presidents Nkurunziza, Magufuli, and Moïse…
Coincidence, or not?
Not unrelated:
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For non-UK readers, the man pictured in the middle meme is Jimmy Savile