The three nations join Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa in recalling the same batch of the syrup, which is used to treat coughs, hay fever and other allergic reactions in children. South Africa has also recalled an additional batch.

Laboratory tests on the syrup by Nigeria's health regulator showed a high level of diethylene glycol, which has been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since 2022 in one of the world's worst waves of poisoning from oral medication.

Diethylene glycol is toxic to humans when consumed and can result in acute kidney failure.

The batch of Benylin Paediatric syrup recalled was made by J&J in South Africa in May 2021, although Kenvue now owns the brand after a spin-off from the multinational pharmaceutical company last year.

Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority, TMDA said it had begun the recall on April 12 after hearing about the Nigerian test results.

"This is an exercise that does not involve investigation but rather monitoring to ensure that those affected drugs are removed from the market," TMDA spokesperson Gaudensia Simwanza said on Monday.

A spokesperson for Kenya's drug regulator said its test results on the syrup would likely be ready on Wednesday.

"A review of our safety database doesn't reveal any adverse events reported," the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority said in a statement dated April 12.

"However, Rwanda FDA issues the present recall for precautionary measures," the statement added.

Zimbabwe's Medicines Control Agency said that it did have a record of the product's importation into the southern African nation, but that it was concerned the syrup could enter the local market illegally.

Zimbabwean authorities say the nation will step up inspections as a precautionary measure.

Kenvue said in a statement that it was conducting its own assessment and working with health authorities to determine a course of action.

"Dear citizens, it is with great sadness that I announce the death of the retired president... at 5:30 in the evening," President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on state television TBC1.

Mwinyi, who served two terms, died of lung cancer, Hassan said.

He had been hospitalized in London in November last year before returning to continue treatment in the main Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania will observe seven days of mourning with national flags flown at half-mast.

The reformist leader will be laid to rest on Saturday, Hassan said.

"On behalf of the government, I offer my condolences to the family, relatives, friends and all Tanzanians for this great tragedy for our nation," she said.

Hand-picked by independence hero Julius Nyerere to succeed him, Mwinyi inherited a country in the grip of an economic crisis, following years of failed socialist experiments.

Tanzania's founding father Nyerere's pet project "ujamaa" ("fraternity" in Swahili) sought to bring people together by promoting a socialist economic vision, but his collectivist experiments left the country in a precarious condition.

Mwinyi removed restrictions on private enterprise and eased bottlenecks on imports, earning the nickname Mzee Rukhsa, a Swahili phrase which loosely translates to Mr. Permission.

Kenyan President William Ruto eulogized him as a "great leader whose rich legacy will never fade."

"I extend my condolences and those of the people of Kenya to President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the people of the United Republic of Tanzania," Ruto said on X.

Multi-party democracy

Born on May 8, 1925 in the former British colony known as Tanganyika, Mwinyi moved to Zanzibar to study Islam.

His father hoped he would become a spiritual leader, but the young Mwinyi took up teaching instead, before entering politics in the 1960s after Tanganyika won its freedom.

Following the 1964 merger between independent Tanganyika and Zanzibar to form Tanzania, he rose through the ranks to serve as ambassador to Egypt as well as the minister of health, home affairs and natural resources during the 1970s and early 1980s.

In 1984, he became the president of Zanzibar, before Nyerere chose him to lead Tanzania.

He was hailed for opening the door to multi-party democracy in 1992 and allowing opposition parties to contest elections three years later, when he stepped down.

But his tenure was also peppered with controversies.

He faced criticism for allegedly favoring Muslims while appointing officials to top government jobs, allegations he conceded hit him hard.

The economic liberalization he presided over was accompanied by corruption scandals, which became so endemic during his reign that some donors froze aid in 1994.

The grey-haired leader had kept a low profile since retiring from politics in 1995.

At his book launch in 2021, President Samia Suluhu Hassan showered him with accolades, describing him as a leader worthy of emulation.

In the memoir, Mwinyi criticized the "ujamaa" project, saying it deprived small-scale traders of income.

Uganda has been dissatisfied with the longstanding system under which its fuel companies buy 90 percent of their supplies through affiliated firms in Kenya. President Yoweri Museveni has complained this exposes his country to supply disruptions and high pump prices.

In response, Uganda announced in November it would hand over exclusive rights for supply of all petroleum products to a unit of global energy trader Vitol.

The East African nation imported $1.6 billion worth of petroleum products in 2022, mostly originating from the Gulf.

Museveni’s government planned for imports to still arrive via Kenya, but Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa said the Kenyan government refused to grant the required license.

"We are negotiating with the Tanzanian government. The technical teams are talking, and I will be meeting Her Excellency, the president on that," Nankabirwa said, adding, "we want to find a route that will keep us safe in terms of petroleum supplies."

Kenya's Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority and Tanzanian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chadema says the three bills do not address concerns over the last presidential election in 2020, which former authoritarian leader John Magufuli won by a landslide despite opposition claims of fraud.

But the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who took over after Magufuli died in 2021, insists the reforms will improve democracy in the East African nation.

Thousands of people joined a demonstration last week organized by Chadema, which had urged the government to withdraw the bills, calling for greater independence for the electoral commission.

Lawmakers began debating the bills on Tuesday before voting on the legislation on Friday.

"We have done our job by approving the bills... We will now send the bills to the President for assenting into laws," said parliament speaker Tulia Ackson.

Chadema has focused its criticism on a measure that would allow Hassan to directly appoint five of the 10 members of the electoral commission ahead of a presidential election next year.

The demonstration organized last week by the opposition party was held in the financial capital Dar es Salaam. It was the biggest since the government lifted a ban on opposition political rallies a year ago.

"We have not seen any change after the first protest in Dar es Salaam. Instead, the government ignored our demands and moved ahead with debating the contentious bills," Chadema secretary general John Mnyika told reporters on Thursday.

Chadema leader Freeman Mbowe, who has spent time in prison under both leaders, has said the bills offer only "cosmetic" reforms.

The party has announced a round of weekly protests this month in the cities of Mwanza, Mbeya and Arusha, starting on February 13.

Parliament is dominated by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi, CCM party which has 364 out of the 392 seats.

Hassan has sought to reverse some of the more hardline policies of her predecessor, whose strongman tendencies earned him the nickname "Bulldozer".

A ban on opposition gatherings was overturned in January 2023.

Shortly afterwards, one of Tanzania’s most prominent opposition leaders, Tundu Lissu, returned to the country after having spent most of the previous five years in exile.