The Duchess of Edinburgh has arrived in Tanzania for the first royal visit to the country since 2018.
A spokesperson from the commission in the East African country said the focus on several key areas, including health, agriculture, and women’s empowerment.
Sophie, the wife of Prince Edward, previously visited the country in 2004. The Prince of Wales had previously visited the country in 2018.
The visit is expected to last until Friday, September 20.
The Duchess of Edinburgh is visiting the East African country
PA
The British High Commissioner to the United Republic of Tanzania, Marianne Young said: “Delighted to welcome HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh back to Tanzania to engage on our important partnerships on health, agricultural and women’s issues. Asante sana!”
Local media reports she will visit the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam, as well as Zanzibar and the city of Arusha in the shadow of Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.
In Dar es Salaam, Sophie will visit the Magomeni Health Centre, a facility funded by the UK that offers essential sexual health and family planning services. She will also attend a reception focused on UK-Tanzania health cooperation, where she is expected to reaffirm her commitment to eliminating trachoma across the Commonwealth by 2030.
In Arusha, the Duchess will help launch the UK’s new horticulture export accelerator program, a collaborative initiative with the Tanzania Horticultural Association aimed at enhancing Tanzanian horticultural exports to the UK.
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During her trip, she will visit female farmers to explore their empowerment through science and entrepreneurship in agriculture and food systems. Throughout her visit, the Duchess will meet with senior Tanzanian government officials, healthcare workers, and local communities.
It comes as the country has seen some tumultuous political times as President Samia Suluhu Hassan has tried to ease repression since succeeding John Magafuli who died in office three years ago.
However, the body of Ally Kibao, a member of the secretariat of the main opposition CHADEMA party, was reportedly found on the outskirts of commercial capital Dar es Salaam with signs he had been beaten and acid had been poured on his face.
CHADEMA chairman Freeman Mbowe told journalists his body was found on Sunday, September 8 a day after two armed men removed him from a bus travelling from Dar es Salaam to the north-eastern port city of Tanga.
Mbowe said: “The (preliminary) post-mortem has been done and it is obvious that Ally Kibao has been killed after being severely beaten and even having acid poured on his face.”
President Hassan said she had ordered an investigation into what she described as Kibao’s assassination.
“Our country is democratic and every citizen has the right to live. The government I lead does not tolerate such brutal acts,” she wrote on X on Sunday.
Police said in a statement they were investigating the “tragic incident”.
