The husband of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan died Monday while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Zanzibar, the country’s vice president announced.
Hassan became Tanzania’s first gentleman in 2021, when his wife took office as the country’s first female president following the death of President John Magufuli. Hassan had been receiving treatment for a heart condition.
Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi announced Hassan’s death and expressed his condolences to the family. He said arrangements were being made for his burial in the family’s native Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago that is part of Tanzania.
President Hassan is serving a second term after winning a disputed election in 2025 with more than 97 percent of the vote. Candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from running.
The couple had four children, three sons and a daughter who is a lawmaker.
Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Mhamoud Ali Youssouf conveyed his “deepest” condolences to President Samia Suluhu Hassan and people of Tanzania on the passing of Hassan.
Hassan, an agricultural academic who largely kept a low public profile, became Tanzania’s first First Gentleman after his wife assumed the presidency in 2021.
He married Samia in 1978, before she entered national politics, and the couple had four children. Their daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, is a politician serving in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives.
Tributes have been pouring in from across Africa, with Kenyan President William Ruto, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye expressing condolences to President Samia and her family.
MG/as/APA