Dar es Salaam– Former Prime Minister and Vice President of Tanzania, Judge Joseph Sinde Warioba, shared his concerns on August 28, 2026, that he could not reach former Vice President Nchimbi, something he described as unusual.
Warioba explained that when Nchimbi’s resignation letter surfaced on August 25, 2026, he was unsure if it was genuine, so he called Nchimbi, who confirmed it was his.
“I called Nchimbi, and he picked up. I told him I was calling because there’s a letter trending online, and I wanted him to tell me whether it was true that he had written a resignation letter. He said yes, it’s true,” Warioba told the audience at the Tanganyika Law Society hall. “We talked, and I asked what the President’s reaction had been. He said none yet. I said, alright, we’ll talk in more depth later to understand why you’re resigning.”
In his speech which was part of the Tanzania Democracy Forum, Warioba explained that he had known and worked with Nchimbi’s late father, and that over the years he and Nchimbi grew close, and Warioba became a father figure to Nchimbi, who in turn is close to Warioba’s own children.
Warioba narrated that since August 26, 2026, the day the party expelled Nchimbi for alleged misconduct , he has been unable to reach him.
“Then the next day I heard the National Executive Committee was meeting, so I called him but got no answer. I assumed that since he’s still Vice President, he was probably at the National Executive Committee meeting,” he explained.
“In the evening I saw an announcement that there would be a CCM press conference at 9 p.m. I called him again; no answer. I sent him a message, no reply, and normally he responds quickly. Then I saw what was said at the press conference and tried calling again, still nothing.”
Warioba went on to tell his audience that Nchimbi did not have a sycophantic character, the kind popularly known today as “uchawa“, and that he was a man who stood on principle.
He reminded the audience of several instances that illustrated this, such as during the 2024 civic elections, when he called on the government ministry overseeing elections to halt the disqualification of opposition candidates, or when he spoke out against the frequent arrests of opposition figures, moves that made him something of an outlier within his own party.
“Then in the morning I saw reports that his phones had been confiscated. That surprised me a bit, because I’ve been in the party myself, and in the party, disciplinary action is taken but after that a person is free. So when I was told he might be detained or something, I still didn’t believe it, because I don’t see any grounds for it,” Warioba said.
The last time Nchimbi appeared in public was on August 20, 2026, and he has not been heard from since, fueling speculation about his whereabouts. He was also absent from the swearing-in of the new Vice President, Deogratius John Ndejembi, on August 29, 2026.
