A profile of Ugandan socialite Zari Hassan is provided here, including her biography, age, husband, marriage, children, relationship, and news surrounding Diamond Platnumz, Latifah Dangote, and Prince Nillan.
KAMPALA | LIFESTYLE UGANDA — The following article offers insight into the life and career of Ugandan socialite Zari Hassan, including her biography, age, husband, marriage, children, relationship, and news involving Diamond Platnumz, Latifah Dangote, and Prince Nillan.
Who is Zari Hassan?
Zarinah Hassan, also known as Zari the Boss Lady or Zari Hassan, is a Ugandan businesswoman, musician, and socialite who lives in South Africa and operates the majority of her businesses from there.
How old is Zari the Boss Lady?
Born on 23 September 1980 in Jinja, Uganda, Zari Hassan is 41 years old and celebrates her birthday every September.
Zari started singing at a tender age
Zari Hassan began singing at a young age during her primary school days when she participated in school concerts organized by her teachers, school’s end-of-year functions, and community competitions.
Zari joined the dance, drama, and music groups at Jinja Girls High School, which helped her to win the best actress for two straight years.
After years of excellent performances at school concerts and school plays, she moved to London to study cosmetology for two years.
Zari recorded her first single, ‘oli wange’, in 2007
In 2007, Zari recorded her first single, ‘oli wange’ (you’re mine). In South Africa, Johannesburg, the single was nominated for the Africa Channel O Awards in the category of Best East African video of the year.
In 2009, Zari the Boss Lady won the Diaspora category of the Diva Awards.
Is Zarinah Hassan married?
Zari, the well-known Ugandan socialite, moved on to date Dark Stallion after splitting from her ex, King Bae, a popular South African actor and TV personality from Gauteng.
But, Zari’s love life isn’t as simple as just those two. According to Watchdog Uganda, besides Ivan Ssemwanga, Diamond Platnumz, King Bae, and Williams Bugembe (aka Boss Mutoto), Zari’s been linked to other men as well. Names like Isaac Lugudde (aka LK4), Farouk Sempala, Peter Okoye from the P-Square duo, and Rasta Rob MC have also popped up in her dating history.
Fast forward to October 2023, Zari tied the knot with Shakib Lutaaya in a private ceremony. The couple seems to be enjoying their new chapter together.
Zari’s family is pretty big too—she has three kids with her late husband, Ivan, and two with Diamond Platnumz. Shakib also has a child from a previous relationship, making their blended family even more unique.
What is the net worth of Zari Hassan?
Although Zari Hassan’s net worth remains unknown, unverified sources claim it is estimated to be $4.4 million, placing her among the wealthiest women in Uganda and East Africa.
Zari Hassan has a powerful hand in the administration of Brooklyn City Colleges, the prestigious beauty schools her late husband Ivan Ssemwanga opened in South Africa.
She also appears to be doing an excellent job in the business.
When did Zari and Diamond meet?
Zari got into a relationship with basketball player Farouk Sempala after ending her relationship with the late Ivan Ssemwanga.
Their relationship didn’t last long as Farouk accused Zari the Boss Lady of aborting his children later on. According to Farouk, this was the prime reason for their breakup.
Later on in December 2014, following Diamond Platnumz’s breakup with Tanzanian actress Wema Sepetu, a picture of Zari and Diamond cosying up on social media began circulating.
Both Zari Hassan and Diamond Platnumz denied they were dating, with Zari saying they were friends working on a music project.
Zari and Diamond Platnumz confirmed their relationship a few weeks later, as they walked the red carpet at the 2014 Channel O Video Music Awards together.
As a result of Zari’s relationship with Tanzanian artist Diamond, who’s nine years younger than Zari, the couple now have two children together: Latifah Dangote and Prince Nillan.
Latifah Dangote was born on 6th August 2015, and Prince Nillan was born on 6th December 2016.
‘Distance’ is the reason Diamond cheated on Zari
In an exclusive interview with Wasafi Media, Diamond Platnumz opened up about the reasons he cheated on his wife Zari, who has two children with him.
In my relationship with Zari, I wronged her more than she wronged me, she was smart, she was a good wife material, but what led to us splitting was the distance and lack of constant communication between us,” Diamond explains.
“I have wronged Zari more than she has wronged me throughout our relationship. She was smart, she was a wife material, but the reason we split up was due to the distance and inconstant contact we had,” Diamond says.
Diamond explains that as soon as they had their second child, he encouraged Zari to move to Tanzania since he felt the distance would be a problem, but she preferred to remain in South Africa.
As long as she was by his side, Diamond says he was willing to support Zari in whatever she wanted to do, be it business or anything else. Zari however was not in favour of this plan and both of them went months without seeing each other.
After this period, he explained, “the devil took control and I became stupid, as a human I wasn’t able to prevent it.”
“After this period I believe the devil took over me and I became stupid; I could not prevent it,” he said.
What is zari Hassan’s ethnicity?
Born in Jinja city in the Eastern Region of Uganda, Zari the Boss Lady is the daughter of Nasur and Halima Hassan.
Zari is a mixed-race woman; her maternal grandfather is of Indian descent, her maternal grandmother is Ugandan, and her paternal grandmother is Burundian.
Her mother passed away shortly after her ex-husband died
In a news report published first by Daily Monitor, Zari confirmed that her mother Halima Hassan died at the age of 58, two months after she buried her ex-husband Ivan Ssemwanga.
Halima Hassan, 58, suffered heart complications a few weeks ago that required immediate attention from the doctors; she was hospitalized at Nakasero Hospital’s ICU.
Zari was raised with four siblings
Zari grew up with her four siblings Zuleha Hassan, Asha Hassan, Zara Hassan, and Abdul Karim Hassan.
Latest news about Zari
South African-based Ugandan socialite Zari Hassan left social media buzzing in Uganda on September 23, 2021, after a photo that appeared to show her kissing another woman was published online.
This is one of many photos she posted on her Facebook and Instagram pages over the weekend. It was taken on September 23 at a party she attended to celebrate her 41st birthday, which was organized by her friends.
Many shook their heads in dismay on social media when they saw the kiss, with some questioning her sexuality as others defending it, calling it a normal kiss.
On November 14, 2021, Diamond Platnumz and ‘Zari the Boss lady’ enjoyed a day filled with excitement as they took the opportunity to spend some quality time with their children.
Zari Hassan shared a series of videos on Instagram Stories from a day of spending time at a mall in South Africa, sharing moments they do not have very often.
The couple cherished the time they spent together as a family.
Despite the good weather, only Prince Nillan and Princess Tiffah were in the mood for swimming, while Zari relaxed by the pool whilst showing off her gorgeous dress and makeup.
The two kids were later seen shopping at a toy store as Diamond Platnumz carried both of them. The kids got a chance to choose any toys they wanted from the store.
On June 24, 2021, ‘Young, Famous and African’, Netflix’s first African series, announced that Tanzanian singer Abdul Naseeb, better known as Diamond Platnumz, will join the cast alongside his ex-wife Zari.
