Zanzibar’s First First Lady Fatma Karume Dies at 97

Fatma Karume, the wife of Zanzibar’s first President, the late Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume, has died at the age of 97.

Her death was announced on Monday, September 21, 2026, by Zanzibar’s Second Vice President, Hemed Suleiman Abdulla, who said she died at Mbweni in Zanzibar.

Fatma Karume was born on February 2, 1929, in Bumbwini Misufini in North Unguja. She later married Abeid Amani Karume, who became Zanzibar’s first President following the 1964 Revolution.

Through her marriage to Karume, Fatma became the first First Lady of Zanzibar. She remained a prominent member of the Karume family and was occasionally involved in public events connected to Zanzibar’s political history.

Her husband was assassinated in April 1972 at the headquarters of the Afro-Shirazi Party in Zanzibar. He was 66 years old.

Fatma Karume was also the mother of Amani Abeid Karume, who served as President of Zanzibar from 2000 to 2010. She was therefore both the wife of Zanzibar’s first President and the mother of a later president of the Isles.

She remained involved in family and national commemorations surrounding her late husband. In April 2026, Fatma attended a special prayer ceremony marking 54 years since Abeid Karume’s death, alongside President Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba and other national leaders.

Her death brings to an end the life of one of the last direct links to the earliest years of Zanzibar’s post-Revolution political history.

Fatma Karume is survived by members of the Karume family, including her son Amani Abeid Karume and other children and relatives.