In a conversation with Jenerali Ulimwengu Exclusive on The Chanzo on July 22, 2025, Humphrey Polepole, the former Ambassador of Tanzania to Cuba, revealed that he is currently in Morogoro and that he submitted his resignation at the moment when he was in the country.
“By the time I submitted my letter, which I made public and addressed to the Honorable President, I had already returned home. So I am in Tanzania,” Polepole said when asked about his whereabouts, which has remained a subject of speculation.
He added: “Right now, as I speak, I am in Morogoro, but God willing, in the coming few days I will be in Dar es Salaam, where I will be staying for a longer period.”
Since tendering his resignation, Polepole has continued to engage with the Tanzanian public from an undisclosed location. This has led to various speculations, with many people assuming he is outside the country. He had to refute rumors that he had sought refuge in Sweden. Following an attempted abduction of his sister, Polepole said the police had asked him to show up so that they could offer him protection.
In the interview, Polepole maintained that Tanzania is suffering from a leadership crisis, which, in his view, causes other systems to fall apart. He claimed he had long tolerated the situation while raising concerns through official channels, but the ruling party CCM’s January 2025 congress was the final trigger for his resignation.
Polepole argues that the congress, during which President Samia Suluhu Hassan was nominated as the CCM’s 2025 presidential candidate, was invalid due to procedural irregularities. He emphasized that the party should have allowed new candidates to rejuvenate its leadership.
Following the congress, Polepole said he reached out to several CCM members. He said, while many acknowledged there was a problem, he claims the response was what was done, has been done, and nothing can change.
When pressed by Jenerali to say if there are other people with similar views to his, aside from another CCM member, Godfrey Malisa, who has committed to go to court, Polepole says he has never had any contact with Malisa. Polepole avoided to answer directly to the question of whether there are other people like him in CCM, instead made an appeal to the leaders in the CCM to assess themselves.
“Are there any people you know within CCM who share your perspective—people who, if encouraged, might be willing to say, ‘Let’s work together between now and October to fix these issues’?” Jenerali asked.
Polepole responded: “I would like to take this opportunity to speak in a somewhat unconventional way. Within our party, we have leaders, those who chair meetings, members of the Central Committee, members of the National Executive Council of Chama Cha Mapinduzi, delegates to the National Congress, elders of the party, and even retired leaders.”
“I humbly ask them to reflect deeply within their hearts and before our God in heaven, who knows even their hidden thoughts and words. What is happening right now is not right. Let them look at the situation carefully and question their conscience.”
He concluded with a call to action: “I urge them to advise the one they see close to them, so that together we can correct these issues before we head into the general election.
When reporters asked Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, regarding Polepole’s resignation, Kombo told reporters the matter is under administrative and legal review, and when it is concluded, information will be shared.
