Tanzania President’s husband dies

In a public announcement, Ndejembi said Hassan died at about 2:00 a.m. on September 7 while receiving treatment for a heart condition at Mzena Memorial Hospital. He said funeral arrangements were under way in Kizimkazi, in southern Unguja.

Ndejembi extended condolences to President Samia, Hassan’s family, relatives, friends and the public. The announcement did not give a date or time for the funeral.

Hassan became First Gentleman in March 2021, when President Samia assumed the presidency following the death of President John Magufuli. The couple married in 1978 and had four children.

A 2021 profile published when President Samia took office described Hassan as a retired agricultural officer. The announcement of his death did not provide additional details of his career.

A recorded public comment by President Samia about her marriage came in September 2017, when she was vice president and addressed the 14th Gender Festival organised by the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme, or TGNP.

In remarks about family relationships and women’s economic empowerment, she said: “When I return home, I kneel before my husband to nurture a good relationship and build a better family.”

The statement was made before she became president, and she did not name Hassan in the reported remarks. It was, however, a public reflection on her marriage at a time when he was her husband, and she was serving as the country’s first female vice president.

The couple’s marriage had spanned President Samia’s move from Zanzibar politics into the Union government, including her service as vice president from 2015 and her assumption of the presidency in 2021.

As of the Vice President’s announcement, no further burial details had been publicly announced beyond the arrangements being made in Kizimkazi.