Tanzania's Vice-President, Dr Emmanuel John Nchimbi, has resigned from office, less than a year after he was sworn in. In a letter dated Tuesday, A
Tanzania’s Vice-President, Dr Emmanuel John Nchimbi, has resigned from office, less than a year after he was sworn in.
In a letter dated Tuesday, August 25, 2026, and addressed to President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Dr Nchimbi formally tendered his resignation, which will take effect on September 4, 2026.
He also announced his retirement from public service and active politics altogether.
Explaining his decision, Dr Nchimbi said he was fulfilling a promise he made to President Hassan on August 27, 2025, that he would step aside whenever she felt the need for another Vice-President, and that he had become fully convinced, without any doubt, that the President desired change.
He based his resignation on Article 50(2)(c), read together with Article 149(2), of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, and thanked President Hassan and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party for the confidence placed in him during his tenure.
The resignation marks a historic first; Dr Nchimbi becomes the first Tanzanian Vice-President to voluntarily relinquish the office since independence.
It comes barely ten months after he was sworn in following a successful campaign as President Hassan’s running mate, and amid media reports suggesting a falling-out between the two leaders.
Attention has now turned to who President Hassan will name as his successor, with Parliament’s fourth meeting opening on Wednesday, August 26, and the President expected to complete the appointment process by around September 18, 2026, after which the new Vice-President will be sworn in following parliamentary confirmation.
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