- 2 months ago
Tanzania’s parliament approved Deogratius Ndejembi as vice president after Emmanuel Nchimbi resigned amid reported disputes with President Samia Suluhu Hassan and debate over constitutional reform.
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00:05I'm Michael Oku. This is DW News Africa.
00:08Coming up on the program, Power Near the Top Changes Hands in Tanzania.
00:13And with it, a pointed question, just how costly is it to disagree with the president?
00:19Vice President Emmanuel Nchimbi is out after less than a year,
00:24reportedly for pushing too hard for constitutional reform.
00:28Power has closed ranks around a hand-picked successor,
00:31rubber-stamped by parliament with eyebrow-raising perfect unanimity.
00:36Also paying a price, opposition leader Tundu Lisu on trial for treason,
00:41a charge that can carry the death penalty for demanding the same reforms.
00:46This week, defending himself in court, he called the case purely political.
00:51And the new vice president knows this project well.
00:55As energy minister, he championed it.
00:57Tanzania's $2.8 billion dam is now fully online, promising to power the nation and beyond.
01:18The top of Tanzania's political establishment has been shaken by the resignation of Vice President
01:24Emmanuel Nchimbi, who had been in office for less than a year.
01:29Analysts say his departure may have been the result of disagreements with President Samia Suluhu Hassan,
01:36particularly over governance and political reforms.
01:40Nchimbi recently called for a new constitution,
01:43comments that reportedly drew criticism within the ruling CCM party.
01:48The party subsequently expelled him, citing violations of party discipline and ethics.
01:54Following his resignation, CCM nominated Energy Minister Degratius Djembi to serve as the country's next vice president.
02:05Tanzania's parliament voted unanimously to approve Djembi,
02:09and we'll be talking in depth about his appointment in just a moment.
02:13All 324 deputies said yes to him, 100% support, remarkably similar to the 98% of the vote garnered
02:22by President Hassan in last year's disputed election.
02:27The political climate has been tense since that vote triggered widespread unrest.
02:32At least 518 people were killed, according to an official inquiry,
02:38although investigators suggested the true number may be higher.
02:42Human rights groups and opposition figures accused security forces of using excessive force.
02:48The government also temporarily shut down Internet access during the unrest.
02:55I'm joined now by Faraja Christemus, political analyst and lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
03:03Professor, publicly, it appears what triggered Nchimbi's ouster as VP were his remarks calling for a new constitution.
03:12What's your reading of what actually happened here?
03:15And from where you sit, has the government been transparent?
03:21In fact, by the time the secretary-general was announcing the decision of the party,
03:29the news, the journalists and the media practitioners were not allowed to ask questions.
03:35So still, we are about the speculations.
03:38We depend on the speculations, what were the reasons, but the allegations were not clearly explained.
03:44And the party has not yet released any clear explanation of whether it was about misconduct,
03:53or it was a disciplinary issue, or it was about insubordination of the vice president.
04:00How significant are the divisions within CCM, the ruling party, over constitutional reform?
04:07In other words, are we seeing an ideological split, or simply a struggle for influence?
04:16Both can explain that.
04:18We say both because there is a power struggle.
04:22And as we all understand that, in 2030, there will be another general election.
04:27And there were some people who were expecting to vie for the presidency in 2030.
04:32So there should be an explanation related to power struggles within the ruling party concerning the next general election.
04:41But another is about the ideological split.
04:44And it has been so clear from the beginning that the vice president has been quite a little bit different
04:50with the president
04:51concerning the ideological issues related to how the government handled the October unrest last year,
04:58and the way the political or the crackdown on the opposition leaders.
05:04It was something that made them different.
05:08The vice president fell out of favor of the president because the difference,
05:15the ideological differences on how to handle the post-October unrest issues.
05:21I wonder, has the government's approach strengthened or weakened the opposition politically?
05:29In fact, this time, if we talk about the opposition,
05:33especially the main opposition party,
05:37Chadema, Chama Chademokrasia na Mendeleo,
05:40has become more stronger, has become stronger than before.
05:45And it has collected a lot of support from the public
05:49due to what has happened since last year.
05:52So the opposition has benefited much from the conflicts that are going on,
05:57especially between the former vice president and the president.
06:03What are the biggest concerns that Tanzanian civil society groups have today, you think?
06:11There are several issues which are of concern to the civil society organizations.
06:19One of the concerns, which is the main concern,
06:23is about the brutality that has been taken,
06:28all the strong measures that have been taken by the police and security organs
06:33against the politicians, against the human rights activists,
06:38and against the civil society organizations that are standing for the human rights.
06:45There is a huge crackdown on them.
06:48And currently, they are fighting for the new constitution.
06:52So you can find that the government doesn't like that language of the new constitution.
06:58So that has been a challenge to them.
07:01And they struggle much to put ahead for their message about the new constitution,
07:08because the CCM promised in their manifesto that within 100 days,
07:14the process for the new constitution could start.
07:17But unfortunately, now we are approaching one year since the promise was made.
07:22There's not any process that has started for the new constitution.
07:26And the excuse is that last year, during the October unrest,
07:31the government couldn't start the process for the new constitution.
07:34And they were expecting maybe in this financial year,
07:38there could be any allocation for the new budget,
07:41budgetary allocation for the new constitution.
07:44But unfortunately, that has not been done.
07:46And so it has been a huge concern for the civil society organizations
07:50about their call for the new constitution.
07:54The new vice president is 43, the former energy minister,
07:58and by his own account, a loyalist of the CCM party.
08:02What does his selection over more senior party figures
08:06tell us about what President Hassan wants in a deputy right now
08:11and how she's managing her own party?
08:14The deputy, the current vice president,
08:19who has taken over after the resignation of the former vice president,
08:24Emmanuel Ichimbi, is young.
08:26And literally with our Tanzanian politicians,
08:30we can say he's still young, about 43 years of age,
08:36and she's too young in terms of politics within the CCM,
08:42but also within the country.
08:44And maybe what we see,
08:48what are our speculations,
08:50that he wants to join the groups.
08:53He wants to attract the young people,
08:56the young generation,
08:57for the support of the president.
08:59Because now, as we speak,
09:02Tanzanian generation is mostly constituted by the younger generation,
09:07between 15 years up to 40 years.
09:10So the vice president might be considered
09:13as one of the person who can attract,
09:15who can pull the younger generation
09:18in the support of the president.
09:20But still the question will be,
09:22will he vie for the presidency in 2030?
09:25That's the question we are still asking ourselves,
09:28and we wait for the time to tell us.
09:32Are you saying that this is a conscious choice by President Hassan
09:36because of his age,
09:37that his age is significant,
09:39it plays a very major role for her
09:42in terms of appealing to the younger generation in the country?
09:47Yes, I think that's a calculation
09:51to appeal to the younger generation.
09:54She has made such a calculation,
09:56maybe through the appointment of the younger vice president,
10:01she will be appealing to the younger generation,
10:03and she will be asking them,
10:04or she will be conversing for their support.
10:07And maybe towards the end,
10:10she's also promoting him for the next general election.
10:14Because we don't expect the vice president
10:17to retire when he's 47,
10:21because by 2030, she'll be 47.
10:24It will be for the first time the country
10:27to have the retired vice president who is 47,
10:31which is, for many people, an ambitious age.
10:36And maybe she is trying to give him an ambition
10:39to vie for the presidency in 2030,
10:42because we don't expect him to step aside
10:47as a retired or as a former vice president
10:50after the elections in 2030.
10:53And to be clear,
10:55she won't be vying for that presidency,
10:56as far as you're concerned,
10:58because she can't constitutionally?
11:04In other words,
11:05why would she be propping up
11:08this new selection of vice president
11:11for the presidency
11:12if she herself was expecting
11:15to still sit in that seat?
11:20So far, she hasn't signaled any intention
11:23to vie again for the presidency in 2030.
11:26So if she won't vie for the presidency in 2030,
11:31so it means she might show an interest
11:33or she might indicate that there is someone else
11:37she's going to support for the presidency in 2030.
11:41And maybe that is the peak.
11:44The current vice president might be the peak
11:47for the time being.
11:50We should remind everyone,
11:52President Hassan won last year's election
11:54with nearly 98% of the vote,
11:5898% in a poll, of course,
12:01barred by deadly violence
12:03and an opposition boycott.
12:05A year on,
12:06she's pushed out her own handpicked deputy.
12:08Does this read as a president
12:10firmly in control,
12:12tightening her grip,
12:13or as one facing more internal resistance
12:16than 98% suggests?
12:22The last year's election
12:24is still controversial until today.
12:27As you will recall,
12:29there was an arrest
12:36and there was a crackdown
12:38on the opposition leaders
12:41and some of the political parties boycotted,
12:44especially the main political party
12:46boycotted the elections.
12:49And we will all recall that
12:50there was a crackdown
12:52conducted by the police forces
12:55and the security organs.
12:58The election itself was controversial.
13:02Now, within that circumstance
13:04or in that context,
13:06we can say
13:08the president is trying
13:10to tighten her grip
13:12on the power
13:13and that also indicates
13:15that there is a power struggle
13:17within her party.
13:19And maybe we will expect
13:21more factions to happen
13:23as we approach
13:24the next year's internal CCM's election
13:28and also the 2030 general election.
13:32We can't say exactly
13:34or explicitly that
13:35the 98% represents the support,
13:39but rather it's about the power
13:42that she decided to grab
13:44through the election.
13:46Faraja, I'm on the outside,
13:49as are most of our viewers,
13:51trying to gauge
13:52where Tanzania is headed
13:54toward the constitutional reform
13:56both the outgoing VP
13:58and the opposition leader called for
14:00or toward more control
14:02and repression.
14:03In the coming months,
14:04what's the one signal
14:06that would tell us
14:07which way this is actually going?
14:15The expectations that we have
14:17is that we have already lost.
14:21We are a little bit pessimistic
14:23about the goal
14:25or about achieving
14:27the goal of having
14:30a new constitution.
14:31You should remember
14:32or we should also remember
14:33that the former vice president
14:36had the message
14:37and the message was so clear
14:39that we need a new constitution.
14:41And he asked to Tanzanians
14:43and human rights activists
14:45that they should stay strong
14:46and fight for the new constitution.
14:49And that sentiment
14:50angered the president.
14:52And I think it also created
14:54a further rift
14:55between the president
14:57and the vice president.
14:59And it showed
15:00a mistrust
15:01between the two.
15:02And now,
15:04as he has resigned,
15:06people now
15:07are a little bit pessimistic.
15:08Will that work?
15:09Will that happen?
15:11Will the new constitution
15:12happen in our country?
15:14Or we should expect
15:15more powers
15:16to refuse
15:18the whole process
15:19of having a new constitution?
15:22So we don't see
15:24there's a political will
15:25towards the new constitution
15:27in our country.
15:29Even though
15:29the former vice president
15:33has resigned
15:34and saying
15:34he's going to be away
15:36from politics
15:38and from
15:38public governance
15:41and public services.
15:43So if he was free
15:45to speak to the public,
15:48maybe he could be encouraging people
15:49to fight more
15:50for the constitution.
15:52But unfortunately,
15:52we don't expect
15:55to see him
15:55in public
15:57for now.
15:58And still,
15:59the civil society organizations
16:01will have to
16:02speak more,
16:04to raise their voices,
16:06to speak louder
16:06than before,
16:07so that their message
16:09can be clearly
16:10delivered
16:10to the authorities
16:12that Tanzanians
16:13need
16:14a new constitution.
16:15Unless, otherwise,
16:16if there's no political will
16:18about the new constitution,
16:19the voices will keep
16:21on emerging
16:23from various parts
16:24of the country,
16:25from various organizations,
16:27but we will always pray
16:29for the political power
16:31to accept
16:33the demand
16:34and the need
16:35of the Tanzanians
16:36about the new constitution.
16:39Faraja Christumas,
16:40political analyst
16:41and lecturer
16:42at the University
16:43of Dar Salaam.
16:44Many thanks.
16:45Faraja Christumas
16:47just mentioned
16:48Tundu Lissu,
16:49the leader
16:49of the main opposition
16:50party, Chidema.
16:52Lissu was arrested
16:54in April 2025
16:55and charged with treason,
16:57a crime that can carry
16:58the death penalty.
17:00Authorities accuse him
17:01of encouraging
17:01a boycott of elections
17:03through his campaign,
17:04no reforms,
17:05no elections.
17:07Lissu says
17:08the case is
17:08politically motivated.
17:10A Tanzanian court
17:11has now ruled
17:12that prosecutors
17:13presented enough evidence
17:14for the trial
17:15to continue,
17:16meaning Lissu
17:17must formally defend
17:18himself against
17:20the charges.
17:21Lissu is representing
17:23himself in this trial
17:24as lead counsel,
17:26which means he needs
17:27direct access
17:28to his own lawyers
17:29and witnesses
17:29to prepare.
17:30Access,
17:31he says,
17:32he's been denied
17:33despite the fact
17:33this is a capital case.
17:36I spoke to Dr.
17:37Rugamaleza Inshallah,
17:39attorney general
17:40of Tanzania's
17:41opposition,
17:42Chidema Party.
17:43He has warned
17:43about arbitrary rule.
17:45I ask if we are
17:46seeing that
17:47playing out
17:48in real time.
17:50Yeah,
17:51because now
17:52what we have,
17:53we have been
17:53in cases
17:54of some of
17:55my colleagues,
17:56the lawyers,
17:56that we are going
17:57to visit him
17:58in prison.
17:59We are not allowed
18:00to have
18:01what the privacy
18:04that is required
18:05between an advocate
18:07and an accused
18:09of the person
18:09who is in a man
18:11to prison.
18:11So you go there,
18:13you are surrounded
18:13by the prisoner
18:17soldiers,
18:18they hear everything
18:19that is being discussed
18:20and that's now,
18:21it's still a case
18:22before the High Court
18:23of Tanzania
18:23and you would have
18:24expected that
18:25since a constitutional
18:26case has been filed,
18:27things would have changed
18:28but the guys
18:29have stuck to their guns
18:30so the only means
18:31that now
18:32Lisu is using
18:32to be able
18:33to communicate
18:33with his lawyers
18:34and even his witnesses
18:36now is to ask
18:37for a 30-minute
18:42recess
18:43during the afternoon
18:44to be able
18:45to converse
18:45with his witnesses
18:47and also
18:48with his lawyers.
18:49So the same courtroom
18:51that is being tried in,
18:54that's the one
18:55is allowed
18:57eventually to use
18:58in the afternoon
18:59to meet his lawyers
19:00because if you go
19:01to the prison,
19:02the prison establishment
19:04have made sure
19:05that they have to hear
19:06and hear everything.
19:08See, hear everything
19:09then we suspect
19:10that they might even
19:11be recording
19:12those conversations.
19:13Well,
19:14with Lisu jailed
19:15and testifying
19:16in his own defense,
19:17your main 2025 candidates
19:19blocked from the ballot
19:21and now a new
19:22vice president
19:23installed
19:23with zero opposition input,
19:26what leverage
19:26does your party
19:27actually have left?
19:30our leverage
19:31is the Tanzanian people
19:34because we have now
19:36extended from being
19:37the largest opposition party
19:39now to being
19:39the largest political party
19:42in this particular country.
19:43CCM cannot match
19:44our following
19:45and our popularity
19:49has gone as short up
19:50and our meetings
19:51whenever we are holding
19:52those meetings
19:53are attended
19:54by thousands
19:55and thousands of people
19:56and so
19:57those are the ones
19:59that we are
20:00banking on.
20:01Our political capital
20:03is the Tanzanians
20:05because now
20:06they've made us
20:06become the largest
20:07political party
20:08but the state
20:09is all out
20:10to ensure that
20:11even our party
20:11is ultimately
20:12is banned completely
20:13because we find
20:15some cases
20:16are being opened
20:16against our party
20:17and the way
20:19they are being
20:21run
20:22and I would think
20:23perhaps
20:24orders might come
20:25that you may not know
20:26where they are coming from
20:27but so many cases
20:28have been filed
20:29against us
20:29by the so-called
20:30Chadema members
20:31and you find that
20:33out of those
20:34you might find
20:34some orders
20:35because last year
20:35remember
20:36our party
20:37was injected
20:38for 309 days
20:43so it is not
20:44a small thing
20:45you ban
20:46the largest
20:47opposition party
20:48then
20:48from conducting
20:51political activities
20:52you ensure
20:53that it does not
20:54use its
20:57motor vehicles
20:58even its offices
20:59all of that
21:00was to ensure
21:00that Samia
21:02has a free sale
21:04into the presidency
21:06Chadema Party
21:08Attorney General
21:09Dr. Rugameleza
21:11Nshallah
21:11many thanks
21:12we talked
21:14extensively
21:14earlier
21:15about the gracious
21:16Djembe
21:17until recently
21:18he was energy
21:18minister
21:19in charge
21:20of Tanzania's
21:21prestige
21:21national project
21:22which has just
21:24been officially
21:24inaugurated
21:25the Julius Nerere
21:26hydropower plant
21:28one of Africa's
21:29largest
21:29hydropower projects
21:31after Ethiopia's
21:32Grand Renaissance
21:33Dam
21:34built across
21:35the Rufiji River
21:36at a cost of
21:37around 2.8 billion
21:39US dollars
21:39the plant is
21:41expected to
21:41significantly boost
21:43the country's
21:43electricity supply
21:45but the bigger
21:46test is whether
21:47that power
21:48can translate
21:49into more
21:50reliable electricity
21:51investment
21:52and jobs
21:53for Tanzanians
21:54Charles Combe
21:55reports from
21:56Rufiji
21:59A field of
22:00engineering
22:01that's grown
22:02out of a
22:02challenge
22:03Tanzania has
22:03faced
22:04since its
22:05independence
22:05in 1961
22:06generating
22:07enough reliable
22:09electricity
22:09to keep
22:10businesses
22:10running
22:11and support
22:12a growing
22:13economy
22:13the Julius Nerere
22:15hydropower project
22:16this plant
22:19now contributes
22:20around half
22:20of the electricity
22:21used in our
22:22country
22:25the increase
22:26in supply
22:27has helped
22:28address the
22:28long-standing
22:29problem of
22:29frequent power
22:30cuts
22:31which disrupted
22:32industrial production
22:33essential services
22:35such as hospitals
22:37and even
22:38households
22:41though Tanzania's
22:43energy ministry
22:44says 85%
22:45of the country
22:46has access
22:47to electricity
22:47actual connection
22:49to the grid
22:49is much lower
22:50the government
22:51wants to link
22:52up another
22:538 million
22:53households
22:54by 2030
22:55Tanzania's
22:57then energy
22:57minister
22:58just appointed
22:59vice president
22:59says the country
23:01has its size
23:02set much higher
23:03our country
23:06must now start
23:07exporting electricity
23:08and we are already
23:09acting at your
23:09directive
23:10we are using
23:11the surplus power
23:12available to us
23:13and we have
23:13entered into
23:14discussions and
23:14agreements
23:15with our
23:15counterparts
23:16in Zambia
23:16to supply them
23:18with electricity
23:20Tanzania says
23:21it has agreed
23:22to supply up
23:22to 1000
23:23megawatts
23:24to Zambia
23:24while talks
23:25continue
23:26with Kenya
23:27and the DRC
23:28its membership
23:29in regional
23:30power pools
23:31also opens
23:32access
23:32to wider
23:33electricity
23:34markets
23:34this dam
23:36is already
23:36changing
23:36Tanzania's
23:37power supply
23:38it has the
23:39capacity
23:39to feed
23:412115
23:41megawatts
23:42into the
23:43national grid
23:43but this is
23:44just the
23:45beginning
23:45Tanzania plans
23:46to generate
23:47even more
23:48power
23:48and expand
23:49its transmission
23:50network
23:50the bigger
23:51question is
23:52how far
23:53can this
23:53energy drive
23:54transform
23:55Tanzania's
23:56economy
23:56and the
23:57lives
23:57of ordinary
23:58people
23:58the government
24:00has already
24:01constructed
24:01a 400
24:02kilovolt
24:03transmission
24:04line
24:04linking
24:05the main
24:05substation
24:06to the
24:06capital
24:07to Doma
24:07and the
24:08main city
24:08Dar es Salaam
24:09in my opinion
24:12this electricity
24:13will bring
24:14significant
24:15benefits
24:15mostly for us
24:17technicians
24:18and small
24:18business owners
24:19much of our
24:21work depends
24:21on electricity
24:23even barbers
24:25and food vendors
24:26rely on it
24:27to preserve food
24:27such as vegetables
24:29and fish
24:30so if we can
24:31have a reliable
24:32electricity supply
24:33it will help
24:34us a lot
24:38at first I was
24:39selling juice
24:39but frequent
24:40power cuts
24:41affected my
24:41business
24:42with this project
24:43now inaugurated
24:44I believe things
24:45will improve
24:46and my business
24:47will do better
24:49allowing me
24:50to make a better
24:50living
24:55that is the hope
24:57of 54-year-old
24:58Henry Mushi
24:59who has worked
25:00as a welder
25:01for more than
25:02a decade
25:02today
25:03he runs this
25:05workshop in
25:05Dar es Salaam
25:06supporting his
25:07family
25:08and employing
25:09eight people
25:10but when the
25:11electricity goes
25:12off
25:12the machines
25:13stop
25:14and so does
25:15production
25:15in our welding
25:19work
25:19we rely heavily
25:20on electricity
25:21and whenever
25:22there are power
25:23outages
25:24it affects us
25:25in many ways
25:26including complaints
25:27from our customers
25:28and challenges
25:29in our daily lives
25:30we hope that
25:32with the Nireire
25:33hydropower project
25:34these challenges
25:35will be significantly
25:36reduced
25:37giving us greater
25:39economic relief
25:40and improving
25:41our livelihoods
25:47for Mushi
25:48the turbines
25:50are running
25:50he now hopes
25:52reliable power
25:53will keep
25:53his machines
25:54working
25:54increase production
25:56and give his
25:57workshop room
25:58to grow
26:00see you next time