Tanzania’s vice president is leaving, and it has not happened before. Emmanuel Nchimbi, 54, posted his resignation letter on Instagram on Tuesday and said he would step down on September 4, less than ten months after he was sworn in. President Samia Suluhu Hassan accepted the letter the same day. Chief Secretary Moses Kusiluka said constitutional steps to name a successor would follow. BBC reporting, confirmed by sources in Nchimbi’s office and the presidency, called him the first vice president to quit in the history of the East African state.
“I have become convinced, without doubt, that the president wants changes, and I have therefore decided to fulfil my promise,” Nchimbi wrote. He said he had told Samia in August 2025 that he would go if she wanted a different deputy. He is retiring from politics and public service, thanked her and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, and said he would remain a “good citizen of Tanzania.” He cited Articles 50(2)(c) and 149(2) of the constitution. The president then has 14 days to appoint a replacement, who needs a National Assembly majority before taking the oath.
He had been Samia’s running mate in last October’s election. They were sworn in on November 3, 2025, at Chamwino State House in Dodoma after a result the electoral commission put at 98 percent. An official inquiry later put post-election deaths at at least 500. Opposition parties and rights groups accused the security forces of a crackdown. Nchimbi had been CCM secretary-general, information minister, home affairs minister, and ambassador to Brazil and Egypt. Last month he told Tanzanians to “fight for a new constitution” before 2030, tying it to justice, rights, and democracy — remarks BBC said may help explain the break with the president. Reuters noted the government’s statement did not give a reason.
Sources: BBC; Reuters; The Citizen; Daily News (Tanzania).
