Teacher sentenced to death for killing pupil
Publish date: 11 March 2019
Issue Number: 814
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Tanzania
A teacher in Tanzania has been sentenced to death for beating a student so badly that he died of his injuries. Judge Lameck Mlacha said Respicius Mtazangira acted maliciously when he repeatedly hit the child with a blunt object in Bukoba in August. The teacher had accused 14-year-old Sperius Eradius of stealing a female teacher's handbag. BBC News reports that corporal punishment can only be carried out in Tanzanian schools within certain guidelines. News of the teen's death sparked national outrage and demands for justice. The victim's family refused to bury his body until the culprit was arrested. Although death sentences can be handed down, Tanzania has not carried out an execution since 1994.
