Tanzanian President Samia’s husband dies in hospital

The husband of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Hafidh Ameir Hassan, has died while receiving treatment at a hospital in Zanzibar.

Vice-president Deogratius Ndejembi – who made the official announcement of Ameir’s death – said he had been suffering from a heart condition.

Ndejembi added that funeral arrangements are under way in Kizimkazi, a village on the country’s semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar.

Ameir was an agricultural academic who largely kept a low public profile. He became Tanzania’s first First Gentleman after President Samia took office in 2021.

In his announcement, Ndejembi said Ameir died at 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Monday at the Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital.

The vice-president led tributes as he conveyed his condolences to Samia, as well as Ameir’s family and friends.

Kenyan President William Ruto said he received the news of his passing with “deep sorrow”.

“President Samia has lost a lifelong companion, her children a beloved father, and Tanzania a distinguished son,” he wrote on social media.

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema also shared his condolences, saying that they “stand side by side” with the first family, and all of Tanzania during “this difficult time”.

Similarly, Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye paid his respects and prayed for Samia and her family to have “comfort and strength in this difficult moment”.

“May he [God] grant eternal rest to the soul of Hafidh Ameir Hassan,” he added.

The First Gentleman rarely appeared in public alongside the president. He was only occasionally seen with her at official events.

He married Samia in 1978, before she entered national politics. The couple had four children – three sons and a daughter – together.

Their daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, is also a politician who currently serves in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives in the National Assembly.