JUST IN: Tanzania President Samia Hassan’s Husband Hafidh Dies at 59

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

According to a report by BBC, Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi announced Ameir’s death, saying he had been suffering from a heart condition.

Ndejembi said Ameir died at 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Monday at Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Zanzibar.

He added that funeral arrangements were underway in Kizimkazi, a village on the country’s semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar.

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

In announcing his death, Ndejembi extended his condolences to President Samia, as well as Ameir’s family and friends, while leading tributes to the late academic.

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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.

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.