Tanzania VP Nchimbi Quits Office After Less Than One Year, Citing President’s Desire For New Deputy.

 

Tanzania’s Vice President, Emmanuel Nchimbi, has resigned from office and announced his retirement from active politics, less than one year after assuming the position.

Nchimbi announced his decision on Tuesday, August 25, saying he had become convinced that President Samia Suluhu Hassan wanted a different person as her deputy.

He disclosed that he had written to the President informing her of his decision to step down from the vice presidency and retire from public service and active politics.

According to Nchimbi, he had promised Hassan in August 2025 that he would leave office if she ever wanted a different vice president.

He said he was now convinced “beyond doubt” that the President desired a change.

President Hassan has accepted Nchimbi’s resignation, according to a statement issued by a government spokesperson on X.

Nchimbi is expected to leave office on September 4, having served as vice president since November 2025.

The government said constitutional procedures would be followed to appoint a new Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Before becoming Vice President, Nchimbi served as Secretary-General of Tanzania’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.

He had faced criticism from some members of the party following remarks he made in July during an event hosted by a rights group, where he said he would encourage Tanzanians to push for a new constitution.

Nchimbi said the country needed a constitution that would promote not only economic and material development but also “the development of dignity and the human worth of every person living in Tanzania”.

President Hassan won the 2025 presidential election with nearly 98 per cent of the vote, although the election was marred by deadly violence and controversy over the exclusion of leading opposition candidates.

A government-appointed inquiry panel later reported that at least 518 people were killed during the unrest.