SITTING AFRICAN PRESIDENT LOSES HUSBAND

September 8, 2026 • Dons Eze • 1 min read

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lost her husband, Hafidh Ameir Hassan, who died on Monday while receiving treatment at a hospital in Zanzibar.

The death of Tanzania’s First Gentleman was officially announced by Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi, according to the BBC.

Ndejembi said Ameir had been suffering from a heart condition and died at 8 am local time on Monday at Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Zanzibar.

The Vice-President added that funeral arrangements were underway in Kizimkazi, a village on Zanzibar.

Ameir, an agricultural academic, largely kept a low public profile and rarely appeared alongside his wife at official events.

He became Tanzania’s first First Gentleman after Samia became president in March 2021.

The couple married in 1978, before Samia entered national politics, and had four children — three sons and a daughter. Their daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, is a politician and serves in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives.

Ruto: Samia has lost a lifelong companion

Kenyan President William Ruto expressed his condolences to Samia in a message posted on his X account on Monday.

Ruto said: “I have received with deep sorrow the news of the passing of Hafidh Ameir Hassan, husband of Her Excellency Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania,”

Dons Eze

DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.