President Uhuru Kenyatta and his late Tanzanian counterpart John Pombe Magufuli had a rather hot and cold relationship, which saw the two Heads of State cross each other's path every so often.
Still, the two leaders had mutual respect for each other, which is why Uhuru announced a seven-day mourning period in Kenya and directed that the East African Community flag - and that of Kenya - be flown at half-mast at all public buildings and public grounds after Magufuli's passing on.
In his heartfelt message of condolence, Uhuru noted that the world had lost an illustrious leader whose passion propelled Tanzania forward.
"In the passing on of President Magufuli, I have lost a friend, a colleague, and a visionary ally; whom I worked with closely, particularly on our commitment to forging lasting bonds between Kenya and Tanzania," he conveyed.
Uhuru and Magufuli shared a number of bromance moments. In 2019, the late Tanzanian President gifted Uhuru 4 peacocks, which according to him, had great meaning in his country’s history.
He stated that he strongly felt it in his heart to give Uhuru the peacocks, quickly adding that he had never gifted any other Head of State the birds, nor was he planning to do so ever again.
Magufuli tickled Uhuru’s rib when he demanded that when the peacocks eventually give birth, the peafowls should be returned to Tanzania.
That was after President Kenyatta toured Tanzania on a two-day private visit, where he held a meeting with Magufuli before visiting his mother Suzana Magufuli at her Chato home, where she was ailing at the time.
During the visit, Magufuli disclosed Uhuru's love for Tanzanian wine, and jokingly remarked that this could lead Kenyans over to Tanzania, to make orders for their special wine.
"Na amependa sana wine ya Tanzania, kwa hiyo sasa inawezekana sasa wakenya including na yeye watakuwa wanakuja to order from here, ile wine ya Dodoma," loosely translating to "and he really like Tanzanian liquor, which could mean that from now on, Kenyans (including himself) will start coming over for the same," Magufuli stated at the time.
In a show of good will, Uhuru in 2019, sent CS Monica Juma to handover gold worth Ksh100 million that had been seized at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Tanzania.
Upon receiving the package, the outspoken Tanzanian leader took out his phone and called President Kenyatta to thank him personally.
The conversation was filled with light moments where the two leaders cracked joke after joke.
Uhuru went on to assure his counterpart of the continued cordial relationship that would help improve the economies of the two countries.
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The relationship between Kenya and Tanzania has however not been very smooth, with tension arising over matters around trade, borders through the years.
The most recent conflict emanated from the two countries' differing approach to handling the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Uhuru issued an address on Monday, July 27, 2020, in which he criticized countries not reporting Covid-19 figures, a statement that was widely perceived as a veiled reference to Tanzania and its President John Pombe Magufuli.
The subtle jab was not taken lightly by Tanzanian authorities, something which played out when Kenyan delegation headed to the funeral of the late Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa reportedly failed to make it to the state the ceremony.
Reports that first surfaced in Tanzanian media outlets indicated that the plane ferrying the representatives was turned back at Monduli District in Arusha, about 700 kilometres away from Dar where the ceremony was taking place.
Pressed by Kenyans.co.ke on why no Kenyan representatives were spotted at the funeral, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau denied that the plane had been sent back, and instead blamed the early return on "a mechanical issue".
The other controversial incident played out on Thursday, July 30, when Transport CS James Macharia, excluded Tanzania from the list of countries allowed to resume air travel to Kenya.
Tanzania retaliated to Kenya's decision to exclude her with the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) nullifying the approval for Kenya Airways for three months, with the ban taking effect from Saturday, August 1 to October 24.
The conflict would later be resolved with both countries lifting the bans they had placed on each other.
Earlier in 2018, Magufuli had warned Kenyan herders against grazing their animals in Tanzania. He warned that Tanzanian authorities would apprehend the animals and take appropriate action in accordance with the law.
Tanzania went on to burn a total of 11,500 chicks from Kenya on two separate occasions stating that they had been illegally imported in to the country.
