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<\/p>\nThe husband of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Hafidh Ameir Hassan, has died while receiving treatment at a hospital in Zanzibar.<\/p>\n
Vice-president Deogratius Ndejembi – who made the official announcement of Ameir’s death – said he had been suffering from a heart condition.<\/p>\n
Ndejembi added that funeral arrangements are under way in Kizimkazi, a village on the country’s semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In his announcement, Ndejembi said Ameir died at 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Monday at the Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital.<\/p>\n
The vice-president led tributes as he conveyed his condolences to Samia, as well as Ameir’s family and friends.<\/p>\n
Kenyan President William Ruto said he received the news of his passing with “deep sorrow”.<\/p>\n
“President Samia has lost a lifelong companion, her children a beloved father, and Tanzania a distinguished son,” he wrote on social media.<\/p>\n
The First Gentleman rarely appeared in public alongside the president. He was only occasionally seen with her at official events.<\/p>\n
He married Samia in 1978, before she entered national politics. The couple had four children – three sons and a daughter – together.<\/p>\n
Their daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, is also a politician who currently serves in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives in the National Assembly.<\/p>\n
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