Tanzania’s First Gentleman, Hafidh Ameir Hassan, Is Laid to Rest in Zanzibar
TANZANIA · SOCIETY
Key Facts
- —The loss Hafidh Ameir Hassan, the husband of President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Tanzania’s first-ever first gentleman, died on Monday morning, September 7, at a hospital in Zanzibar where he was being treated for a heart condition.
- —The announcement Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi announced the death on Monday evening, saying Mr Ameir died at about 8 a.m. at the Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Zanzibar.
- —The burial He was laid to rest in Kizimkazi, the family’s home village in southern Zanzibar, The Citizen of Dar es Salaam reported on Tuesday.
- —The man An agricultural academic who kept a low public profile, he married Samia Suluhu in 1978. They had four children; their daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, sits in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives.
- —The tributes Condolences came from Kenya’s William Ruto, Burundi’s Évariste Ndayishimiye, Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed and African Union Commission chairman Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
Tanzania is mourning Hafidh Ameir Hassan, the quiet agricultural scholar who became the country’s first first gentleman when his wife, Samia Suluhu Hassan, became president in 2021. He died in a Zanzibar hospital on Monday morning after treatment for a heart condition, and has been buried in the family’s home village on the island.
Announced by the vice president
“Fellow citizens, it is with great sadness that I inform you of the death of Honourable Hafidh Ameir Hassan, husband of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Honourable Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan,” Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi said in a video posted on the vice presidency’s account on X late on Monday.
Mr Ameir died at about 8 a.m. on Monday at the Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Zanzibar, where he had been receiving treatment for heart disease, the vice president said. He extended the government’s condolences to the president, her family, relatives and friends, and to all Tanzanians.
News outlets have published differing ages for Mr Ameir, and Tanzanian state announcements gave none. This report follows the official announcements and does not state one.
A private man in a historic role
Mr Ameir was born in Zanzibar and trained as a teacher and then as an agricultural specialist, with further studies abroad, before a long career in the island’s Ministry of Agriculture. He later taught at an agricultural college in Unguja and retired from public service years before his wife reached the highest office.
That changed on March 19, 2021, when Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as president after the death of President John Magufuli. She became Tanzania’s first female head of state, and he became the country’s first first gentleman — a role he filled so discreetly that many Tanzanians rarely saw him at public events.
Colleagues and reporters who covered the State House beat describe a man who preferred the farm and the classroom to the podium, and who let his wife’s career carry the family’s public life.
A marriage of nearly five decades
Hafidh Ameir married Samia Suluhu in 1978, long before she entered national politics. Their marriage lasted almost 48 years and produced four children — three sons and a daughter. The daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, followed her mother into public life and serves in the Zanzibar House of Representatives.
He was laid to rest in Kizimkazi, the family’s home village on the southern coast of Zanzibar, The Citizen reported on Tuesday. The village, known for its twelfth-century mosque, is the family’s ancestral home and was where the presidency said funeral arrangements would be made from the first announcement.
Condolences across the region
Kenya’s President William Ruto said he had received the news with deep sorrow. “President Samia has lost a lifelong companion, her children a beloved father, and Tanzania a distinguished son,” he wrote. Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta also sent his condolences.
Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye prayed for comfort and strength for the first family; Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema said his country stood “side by side” with Tanzania; and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed sent messages of sympathy. Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, chair of the African Union Commission, expressed the AU’s deepest sympathy and closed with the Islamic prayer for the dead: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un” — to God we belong, and to Him we return.
Mr Ameir’s death comes as President Samia begins her second term, after the disputed October 2025 election in which she secured more than 97 percent of the vote and the main opposition candidates were excluded from the race.
This report is based on The Citizen of Dar es Salaam, which first reported the burial in Kizimkazi, the Tanzanian vice presidency’s announcement, and coverage by the BBC, CGTN/AP and Africanews.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Hafidh Ameir Hassan?
The husband of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and the country’s first first gentleman. An agricultural academic by training, he kept a low public profile throughout his wife’s political career.
How did he die?
He died at about 8 a.m. on Monday, September 7, at the Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Zanzibar, where he was being treated for a heart condition, the vice presidency announced.
Where was he buried?
In Kizimkazi, the family’s home village in southern Zanzibar, according to The Citizen of Dar es Salaam.
When did he become first gentleman?
In March 2021, when Samia Suluhu Hassan became Tanzania’s first female president after the death of President John Magufuli. He was the first man to hold the role.
Did they have children?
Four — three sons and a daughter, Wanu Hafidh Ameir, who is a politician and serves in the Zanzibar House of Representatives.
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