DOES THE ETHICS COMMITTEE STILL HAVE NO ETHICS?

Adeladius Makwega – MBAGALA

“Mzee Abeid Amani Karume once said these words… ‘This country belongs to all of us.’ And I say these words are very profound and true. This country belongs to all of us, but those whom we give positions of authority should never reach a point where they think this country belongs to them. Those positions of authority are only a trust; the true owners are all the citizens of Tanzania.”

These are the words of Mzee Kingunge Gombale Mwiru, which he spoke on July 16, 2015, at his home while addressing members of the media.

These words are now nearly 11 years old, while Mzee Kingunge Gombale Mwiru has been resting in his grave for almost eight years.

Kingunge’s words continue to live on.

Today, Mwanakwetu has remembered these words following the resignation of Dr. Emmanuel Nchimbi from the position of Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania on August 25, 2026.

Indeed, among the few writers who strongly criticized the former Vice President before Dr. Emmanuel Nchimbi, namely Dr. Philip Mpango, was Mwanakwetu. The main argument was that the Vice President is the second-ranking Tanzanian after the President of the United Republic of Tanzania. He knows more than any other CCM member because the National Chairman of CCM is the number one Tanzanian.

“The argument that the CCM Ethics Committee or the Central Committee should discuss the Vice President’s intention to resign has no basis whatsoever, because all those members do not have a proper understanding of what is happening within the government, unless government files are carried and delivered to them during their meetings.”

Mwanakwetu was speaking about how the Vice President should be a person capable of making independent decisions and making the right decisions in the interests of the majority.

Mwanakwetu was aware that many members of the Central Committee, as well as those serving in what is called the CCM National Ethics Committee, are businesspeople and retired government leaders, many of whom have their own challenges.

“Many of them cannot make independent decisions.”

That is why the late Kingunge Ngombale Mwiru, in 2015, pointed a finger at both the Central Committee and the CCM Ethics Committee.

“It is called the Ethics Committee, yet it itself has no ethics…”

Mwanakwetu clearly stated that Dr. Philip Mpango should have made his own decision based on what he had observed and written a resignation letter, rather than informing anyone else. The decision to remain in office until the election period was what eventually contributed to the problems that emerged toward the end of 2025.

Mwanakwetu is certain that Dr. Philip Mpango cannot escape this sin and, perhaps, if God’s grace has visited him, he may have already repented before his God. And if he has not done so, Mwanakwetu’s articles say:

“Dr. Mpango, go and repent as soon as possible.”

The good thing is that Dr. Emmanuel Nchimbi did not make that mistake. He made his decision based on what he saw. This is something that deserves to be greatly commended and is a sign of political maturity on the part of Dr. Emmanuel Nchimbi.

Kingunge said that what was called the Ethics Committee lacked ethics, and that this was what brought about the major crisis of 2015. Those same consequences, he argued, are now being experienced by Tanzania in 2026.

“Let us ask ourselves: if the Ethics Committee ever had the opportunity to demonstrate ethics, has it ever asked itself where the former CCM National Secretary for Ideology, Training and Propaganda, Mr. Humphrey Polepole, is? If the Ethics Committee had ethics, has it ever asked itself who was responsible for the death of Ali Mohammed Kibao?

If someone says that Mzee Kingunge’s allegations in 2015 about ethics committees lacking ethics remain valid to this day, who can dispute that?

Can we protect the life of another Tanzanian when we do not even know where our former National Propaganda Secretary is? That person is a human being, not a cow.”

Through this article, Mwanakwetu extends his sincere congratulations to Dr. Nchimbi.

Furthermore, under the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, the resignation of the Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania is governed by Article 50(2)(c), read together with Article 149(2) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania.

There is nothing in the Constitution that refers to the Central Committee or the Ethics Committee in this matter. The relevant constitutional provisions recognize that circumstances may arise such as those that Kingunge Gombale Mwiru spoke about concerning the Ethics Committee.

Therefore, that constitutional provision does not state that a political party is the one that decides whether the Vice President should resign or not.