Dar es Salaam– Conversations at the Tanzania Centre for Democracy (TCD) forum on the country’s political situation after the 2025 election have revealed that the debate on the state of the Tanzania Union is something the ruling party, CCM, cannot ignore or postpone anymore.
In a two-day forum that commenced on September 07, 2026, and concluded on September 08, 2026, at the Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam, the Union issue, alongside the election crisis, remained central to the discussion.
Speaking on the first day of the forum, the former Vice President, Judge Joseph Sinde Warioba, warned about the current state of affairs, citing that the two governments, Zanzibar and the Union government, have colluded in changing matters that are Union matters to make them non-Union matters, against the Constitution.
“What you are seeing is heading toward a day when we will eventually break up the Union. But the Union is the glue that holds us together; if we break up the Union, we will fall apart. We must do everything possible to strengthen the Union,” Warioba argued.
“For a long time now, these two governments have been making changes to the Union without following the Constitution. Last Tuesday, a Member of Parliament asked a question about oil and gas. The government responded that the two governments had decided to remove oil and gas from Union matters,” Warioba said.
“But you can see that ports have been removed, oil and gas have been removed, and industrial licensing has been removed. Research has been removed, and all statistics, apart from the census, have been removed. And there are other matters as well; even within the defense and security matters, there are groups [established in Zanzibar] that are not under the command of the Chief of Defense Forces,” he added.
The Union debate continued on the second day of the forum. After a presentation from the ACT Wazalendo party chairperson and former First Vice President of Zanzibar, Othman Masoud Sharif, the CCM Vice Chairperson, Stephen Wasira, raised a question on ACT Wazalendo’s full-sovereignty policy.
“ACT says Zanzibar should have full sovereignty. Now, I was lying awake wondering, what does ‘sovereignty’ mean, and what does ‘full’ mean? So when you say ‘Zanzibar with full sovereignty,’ does it remain part of the Union, or does it become a ‘sovereignty’?” Wasira said.
“And if it becomes a ‘sovereignty,’ would that be the end of the United Republic of Tanzania, or how would it work?” he added.
Responding to the question, Masoud implicitly agreed that key questions about ports and gas, which are now under Zanzibar’s authority, violate the Constitution, but argued that they provide about 54 percent of Zanzibar’s revenue, citing that if they were removed from Zanzibar’s control, the Zanzibar government could not function.
“So, I think the solution is not to debate whether Zanzibar should have full sovereignty or not. I think we should discuss the foundations of our Constitution as it currently stands. If you ask me, the biggest threat to our Union right now is our own Constitution. Let us sit down, accept that reality, abandon our dogmas, and deal with the practical situation we are in so that we can find a solution,” Masoud argued.
Tanganyika Question
Debate over a Tanganyika government has been a subject of discussion across social media, with individuals from mainland Tanzania calling for the establishment of a government that will deal with Tanganyika issues.
The frail state of the Union has been evident in some of the discussions on social media and, in some cases, in official spaces such as parliament.
The debate has intensified recently, with questions being asked regarding recruitment in various key state agencies, with some complaining that there is favouritism and the strategic placement of individuals from Zanzibar in key state institutions, a claim that has not been backed by statistical data or concrete proof.
While complaints on the mainland have focused on key state institutions, a similar claim has been raised in Zanzibar, where complaints about individuals from the mainland taking Zanzibaris’ jobs have also been raised and have even been a key theme of discussion in the Zanzibar House of Representatives. Many argue that jobs in the private sector are being taken by individuals from the mainland, and some argue that they are undercutting Zanzibaris by accepting lower wages.
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“The theory behind the Union is that Zanzibar would surrender some of its powers, and Tanganyika would surrender some of its powers. Those powers that Tanganyika surrendered and those that Zanzibar surrendered are the ones that were vested in the government called the Union Government,” argued prominent Muslim cleric Sheikh Issa Ponda Issa, speaking at the forum on September 07, 2026.
“So, the current generation, they want at least that theory that was explained to be reflected: that Tanganyika should exist. So, as we continue talking about simply being together and building unity, what kind of unity are we talking about? Genuine unity must be built on things that are clearly understood, things that are visible and seen to be working properly,” he argued.
Prominent academic and former Minister Professor Anna Tibaijuka, who explained that her position is that there should be one Union government, a position which she admits has not crossed a popular threshold, also questioned on the issue of elevating Zanzibari identity in the Union while Tanganyikan identity is suppressed in favour of a Tanzanian identity.
“And I firmly believe that you cannot kill Tanganyikan identity while nurturing Zanzibari identity. You cannot, because the Tanganyikans will also say, ‘What about us? We are here too,'” she explained.
“So, when Judge Warioba proposed a three-government structure, that is essentially what three governments would do. But if you ask me personally, I have always been in favor of one government. Let us accept that citizens are free and allow them to express their views,” she added.
“The citizens themselves are young; you cannot constrain them too much and expect them to accept it. Things have changed. So, let us speak honestly from our hearts, because if consensus is not reached, we are all in the same boat, and it will become a very serious problem.”
In an interview with The Chanzo, Tibaijuka had earlier suggested that there is a need for a referendum on the issue of the Union structure before writing the new Constitution.
The debate on the Tanganyika question has remained widespread, also fuelled by rising Zanzibari nationalism within the Union, something that the CCM Vice Chairperson admits is fuelling tension in mainland Tanzania.
“This is a major issue which, if we do not clarify it, creates uncertainty among people and even causes tension for us here on the Mainland,” argued Stephen Wasira. “Our colleagues over there are saying that they want full authority. Now others are asking, ‘What about Tanganyika?'”
“Because when you talk about full sovereignty, you are referring to Zanzibar’s self-governing authority. But there is no self-governing authority for Tanganyika; there is the authority of the United Republic of Tanzania,” he concluded.
The question regarding Tanganyika has intensified since the October 29 crisis, with the overall response from both sides of the Zanzibar political spectrum, opposition and ruling, aligning with the government’s position and supporting President Samia.
There are views on social media that opposition to President Samia is because of her identity, something that the main opposition in Zanzibar, ACT Wazalendo, has also championed. Speaking during a political function in Mjini Magharibi, Unguja, on August 29, 2026, the Vice Chairperson of ACT Wazalendo, Ismail Jussa, shared this perspective amid a cheering crowd.
“You hear the noise from the other side; they are preparing programs saying, ‘Let us divide this thing [the union].’ But I have said that if you look at the reasons behind this, if it had been based on principles, we would have come together, wouldn’t we? But because there is a certain person you do not like who has come into office, that is when you suddenly remember your Tanganyikan identity,” Jussa said.
“When the President from their side was in office, they did not see Tanganyika as having been killed. Today, the President has come from Zanzibar, and suddenly it has become a problem,” he continued.
Jussa went on to highlight a historic moment in Zanzibar politics, when President Samia visited a hotspot of Zanzibar opposition politics, Jawz Corner on August 10, 2026, and was welcomed with cultural Taarab songs and celebration from ACT Wazalendo gathering, Jussa queried the online reaction to his own boastful post about the moment.
“The other day, President Samia came, and we welcomed her in our surroundings here in Stone Town. In the end, she anchored at a lively taarab event at Jawz Corner. That, too, became an issue. Why? Because I posted a picture and wrote, ‘When Zanzibaris meet,’ and that became a problem,” Jussa argued in a viral video that has attracted a positive reaction from Zanzibar and a negative reaction from mainland Tanzania.
“So I said, ‘But who is Mama Samia? Isn’t she a Zanzibari? Who is Jussa?’ If we meet and I write, ‘Zanzibaris have met,’ where exactly have I gone wrong?” he continued.
Concluding the forum on September 08, 2026, Wasira agreed that there are issues, such as gas and oil, where the government has unconstitutionally agreed to make them non-union matters, but argued that this is because the Constitution cannot be changed every time, while maintaining that these issues will be rectified when writing the new Constitution.
Wasira, however, opposed the question of Zanzibar’s sovereignty, maintaining that it could not be done without breaking the Union.
