A Tanzanian court has sentenced teacher Respicius Mtazangira to death for fatally assaulting a 14-year-old student in August 2018. Judge Lameck Mlacha ruled the educator acted with malice when he struck the boy multiple times with a blunt object, leading to his death.
The incident occurred at Kibeta Primary School in Bukoba, where Mtazangira accused the boy of stealing a female teacher’s handbag. School regulations stipulate that corporal punishment requires approval from the head teacher and limits the number of strokes to four.
The boy’s family withheld his body from burial until Mtazangira was arrested, sparking nationwide calls for accountability. Despite Tanzania’s legal framework allowing capital punishment, no executions have been carried out since 1994. Mtazangira may appeal the verdict, while the accused teacher’s colleague, Heriet Gerald, was cleared of wrongdoing.
Local observers note the case highlights ongoing debates about disciplinary practices in Tanzanian schools. The BBC’s Aboubakar Famau described the ruling as a rare high-profile measure to protect students from abuse.
