Former Longido DC Marco Ng’umbi.Photo:Courtesy
By Adonis Byemelwa
Dodoma: President Samia Suluhu Hassan has removed Marco Ng’umbi from his position as Longido District Commissioner, a role he held for just over a year. The announcement came via a statement from the President’s Office on the evening of Sunday, September 1, 2024.
Sharifa Nyanga, the Acting Director of Presidential Communications, did not provide specific reasons for Ng’umbi’s dismissal. However, the timing of the decision is noteworthy, following the circulation of a video clip featuring Ng’umbi discussing the 2020 elections.
Related article: President Samia dismisses Longido district commissioner
In the video, which lasts 1 minute and 32 seconds, Ng’umbi is seen speaking to a group of local councilors, asserting that their success in the 2020 elections was not due to their skills but rather the influence of the government.
“If there’s anyone not afraid, it’s me,” Ng’umbi says. He elaborates that the electoral environment was engineered by the government, not because of the candidates’ qualities. “In 2020, no councilor here campaigned. The environment was created by the government. The government made it possible for some to win without competition. Some people know what happened in the bush, and I was involved in some constituencies,” he claims in the clip.
Ng’umbi’s removal comes amid broader political shakeups within the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. The CCM Central Committee has also removed Palina Ninje, the Chairperson of the Women’s Wing (UWT) in Lindi Region, and Abdul Zahoro, the Chairperson of CCM in Bagamoyo District.
The Committee’s Secretary, Amos Makalla, announced that these removals were due to breaches of party ethics. Makalla’s statement emphasizes that the decisions were made to uphold the party’s standards of leadership.
In a further development, the CCM Central Committee has nominated ten candidates for the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) seat, following the death of Dr. Shongo Sedoyeka on June 13, 2024. The nominees, who will face a vote by CCM’s parliamentary committee in Dodoma on September 2, 2024, and a final selection by the Tanzanian Parliament on September 5, 2024, include Gladness Salema, Maria Sebastian, Queen Elizabeth Makune, Ester Chaula, Neema Kumburu, Luda Pande, Fatuma Kangwe, Hawa Mkwela, Fatma Msofe, and Theresia Dominic.
These political maneuvers highlight ongoing concerns about Tanzania’s electoral integrity and the concentration of presidential power. Many critics, including Lutego Kiise, Mussa Ngambi, and John Ndimbo from Nkuhungu Ward in Dodoma City, have publicly criticized the 2020 elections.
They argue that the elections were manipulated by the government. “It is God who has made it possible for this man to expose the corruption embedded by the government,” Kiise wrote on his X account. Ngambi and Ndimbo echoed these sentiments, alleging that the government’s manipulations ensured certain outcomes and hindered fair competition.
The criticisms reflect a broader dissatisfaction with Tanzania’s political system, where presidential powers are perceived as excessively centralized. The removal of Ng’umbi and the leadership changes within CCM seem to be part of a larger effort to address internal party issues, yet they also underscore the ongoing challenges and controversies surrounding the country’s electoral process.