Dar es Salaam-The jailed Tanzanian opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, has used the minutes after court sessions and during breaks to ask about the whereabouts of ousted Vice President Emmanuel Nchimbi. Lissu first raised the question on September 24, 2026, and reiterated it on September 25.
“You Tanzanians, I am in prison, and I hear that Dr. Emmanuel Nchimbi cannot be found. Where is he? Where is Dr. Nchimbi?” Lissu asked on September 24, 2026, at the court where he is being tried for treason.
Lissu’s inquiry echoes conversations on social media, particularly after it was noticed that Nchimbi has missed Sunday church services, something that has attracted attention given his reputation as a devout Catholic.
Nchimbi’s last public appearance was three days before the announcement of his resignation, on August 22, 2026, during the inauguration of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) in Pwani, alongside President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
After the event, Nchimbi posted about his resignation on his dormant Instagram account on August 25, 2026. He was subsequently expelled from the ruling CCM party on August 26, 2026. Many linked the developments to disagreements between Nchimbi and President Samia over the country’s direction.
Talking to party supporters at court, Lissu emphasized the need to demand answers about Nchimbi’s whereabouts, regardless of his party affiliation.
“Let us not remain silent. If you remain silent when it comes to Nchimbi, tomorrow it will be you. Do not remain silent just because he is not a member of our party. He is a Tanzanian, and he deserves to be free and safe. Do not remain silent because Nchimbi is a CCM member,” Lissu emphasized on Thursday.
So far, there has been no official statement explaining Nchimbi’s absence. Unlike other former senior government officials, including vice presidents and prime minister, who often appear at various state functions, Nchimbi has not been seen publicly since his resignation.
When CCM spokesperson Kenani Kihongozi was asked during an interview on September 5, 2026, about Nchimbi’s whereabouts, he said he did not know, comparing the question to being asked about the whereabouts of any other leader, which he said would be difficult to ascertain. However, he emphasized that he believed Nchimbi was “there.”
Tundu Lissu is not the first prominent person to express concern about Nchimbi’s whereabouts. Former Vice President Joseph Warioba, who has described Nchimbi as someone who is like a son to him and said their families are close, also expressed concern after failing to reach him following his expulsion from CCM.
Speaking on August 28, 2026, Warioba said he had spoken to Nchimbi to confirm his resignation, but after Nchimbi was expelled from the party, he could no longer reach him. Warioba described this as unusual, saying Nchimbi normally responded quickly.
“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 told his audience at a democracy dialogue function on August 28, 2026.
For Tundu Lissu, this is not the first time he has used his platform to demand answers about the whereabouts of ruling-party members. On October 25, 2025, Lissu inquired about former Ambassador Humphrey Polepole, who had become a critic of the ruling party ahead of the 2025 election and was abducted and has been missing since October 6, 2025.
READ: CCM Officials Cite Ethics Committee No-Show as Reason for Former Vice President’s Expulsion
Lissu again raised the question of Nchimbi’s whereabouts on Friday, September 25, 2026.
“Has Nchimbi been found, or has he not been found? Ask the bishops to speak about this in their churches. Let religious leaders speak. Religious leaders should not remain silent about these outrageous things,” he said.
