President Yoweri Museveni has sent a heartfelt condolence message to Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan following the death of her husband, Hafidh Ameir Hassan, who died on September 7, 2026, in Zanzibar.
Hafidh, Tanzania’s First Gentleman since Samia became president in 2021, died at Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital while receiving treatment for a heart condition. He was later buried in Kizimkazi, Zanzibar, in accordance with Islamic tradition.
In his message posted on September 8, Museveni extended condolences on behalf of the people of Uganda, his family and himself to President Samia, her family and the people of Tanzania.
Museveni also reflected on his working relationship with Samia, highlighting cooperation between Uganda and Tanzania in areas including trade, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, the Murongo-Kyikagate mini-hydropower project, roads, the Masaka-Bukoba transmission line and the Standard Gauge Railway.

He noted that Samia’s dedication to her country and Africa must have been supported by her husband and family, describing Hafidh’s death as a great personal loss to the Tanzanian President.
“May the Almighty God see you through these dark days. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” Museveni said in his closing prayer.
Hafidh, a former agriculturalist and academic, largely maintained a private life despite becoming Tanzania’s first-ever First Gentleman after Samia assumed the presidency.
Museveni was among several East African leaders who mourned the loss, with Kenyan President William Ruto, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Burundi’s Évariste Ndayishimiye and Zanzibar President Hussein Mwinyi also sending messages of condolence. Ruto later dispatched Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho and Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi to personally deliver his message to President Samia.
Your Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan,
It was with a lot of sadness, that I received the bad news of the death of your dear husband, Mr. Hafidh Hassan.
I extend the most heart-felt condolences from the brother People of Uganda and from my family and myself, to your… pic.twitter.com/bApdlRIXJE
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) September 8, 2026







