A historic political shakeup is unfolding in Tanzania, after the nation’s first ever vice president to resign from office was expelled from the ruling party over alleged disciplinary breaches. Emmanuel Nchimbi, who held the vice presidency for just 10 months, stepped down earlier this week, triggering a series of rapid moves from Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the country’s governing party.
The 54-year-old outgoing vice president had drawn increasing attention in recent weeks for controversial public statements, including a call for Tanzanians to mobilize for a new national constitution — comments widely interpreted as a sign of fractured relations between Nchimbi and President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Nchimbi previously ran alongside President Samia as her running mate in the controversial October 2025 presidential election, a poll that was followed by widespread deadly unrest.
Following Nchimbi’s resignation announcement, CCM held an extraordinary party meeting chaired by President Samia, where officials voted to expel the former vice president from the party for indiscipline. The party has not released specific details about the allegations against him, and Nchimbi’s resignation is set to formally take effect at the end of next week.
On Tuesday morning, Nchimbi shared a short resignation letter via his official Instagram account, noting that he would step away from public life entirely. In his statement, he confirmed he was leaving because he is “convinced, without doubt, that the president wants changes.”
To fill the vacant vice presidential post, CCM has nominated 43-year-old Deogratius Ndejembi, the country’s current Minister of Energy, to replace Nchimbi. Ndejembi’s nomination will next be sent to Tanzania’s national parliament for formal approval before he can take office.
The 2025 election that brought the Samia-Nchimbi ticket to power remains a point of national and international contention. The pair were sworn into office in November 2025 after officially claiming 98% of the popular vote, but the main opposition party, Chadema, boycotted the poll over demands for unspecified electoral reforms that were not met before voting opened.
In the wake of the election result, widespread violent anti-government protests broke out across the country. An official government inquiry into the unrest confirmed that at least 500 people were killed during the clashes. Opposition groups and international human rights organizations have since accused Tanzanian security forces of carrying out a brutal crackdown on demonstrators, using excessive force to suppress anti-government dissent.