Abstract:
This study examines discursive strategies of moral legitimation and delegitimation deployed
in presidential speeches by John Pombe Magufuli and Samia Suluhu Hassan during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania. Drawing on van Leeuwen’s (2008) framework of
legitimation strategies, the analysis investigates how moral authority, rationalisation,
evaluation, abstraction, and mythopoesis were linguistically mobilised to justify or contest
public health measures. Four nationally broadcast speeches were purposively selected and
analysed using qualitative discourse-analytic procedures. The findings demonstrate that
while President Samia Suluhu Hassan predominantly employed authority, rationalisation,
and moralisation to promote adherence to WHO-recommended mitigation measures and to
rebuild public trust, President Magufuli utilised similar strategies to delegitimise Western
interventions and legitimise locally grounded responses. Overall, the study reveals how
presidential discourse functions as a strategic instrument for shaping public perceptions,
articulating competing moral orders, and advancing divergent crisis-management
approaches. The article concludes by underscoring the need for further systematic research
on (de)legitimation practices in health-related crises.
