DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania – Tanzania’s vice president resigned Tuesday, saying he wanted to respect the president’s wishes, weeks after a newspaper was suspended for reporting deep divisions within the government.

“I have decided to retire from politics and public service,” Emmanuel Nchimbi said in a post shared on Instagram.

The message written in Swahili said that his resignation would take effect on 4 September.

He added that he had promised Hassan he would resign should she wish a different vice president and was “convinced beyond doubt that the president desires change.”

Government spokesman Emmanuel John Nchimbi, in a statement posted on X, said: “Constitutional procedures to ⁠appoint another vice president of the United Republic ​of Tanzania will be undertaken.”

Nchimbi was ​earlier the secretary general of the president’s ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
He drew criticism from some in the party for ​remarks last month they considered unnecessary, when he ​told an event hosted by a rights group that he ‌would ⁠urge Tanzanians to fight for a new constitution.

“A constitution that leads us toward development, not just material and economic development, but the development of dignity ​and the ​human worth ⁠of every person living in Tanzania,” Nchimbi said in the commercial capital of ​Dar es Salaam.

Hassan emerged the winner of last ​year’s ⁠presidential election, securing nearly 98 percent in a vote marred by deadly violence.

A government-appointed inquiry panel said at ⁠least ​518 people were killed in ​the unrest, spurred by the exclusion of leading opposition candidates from ​the elections.

Nchimbi’s resignation comes a week after the suspension of the critical Mwanahalisi newspaper, which published an article alleging Nchimbi was unwilling to step down from his position following pressure from the ruling party.

Quoting anonymous sources, the paper alleged that the vice-president had disagreed with Hassan.

Hassan became president following the death of authoritarian leader John Magufuli in March 2021 and was initially praised for easing restrictions on the opposition and media.

However, the opposition now accuses Hassan of a return to the policies of her predecessor.

The country ranks 117th out of 180 countries for press freedom, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). – AFP/Reuters