A Tanzanian judge, Lameck Mlacha, has sentenced a teacher, Respicius Mtazangira, to death by hanging for beating a pupil to death in August 2018.
Mtazangira, 51, was said to have beaten the pupil, 14-year-old Sperius Eradius, so badly that he died of his injuries.
Eradius was accused of stealing a female teacher’s handbag at his school, Kibeta Primary School in Bukoba town.
The trial judge ruled that the convict, Mtazangira, acted maliciously when he repeatedly hit the child with a blunt object, leading to his death.
According to law, corporal punishment in Tanzanian schools can only be carried out within certain guidelines.
A maximum of four strokes can be given and the head teacher must be present. The punishment can only be administered by the head teacher or somebody they have authorised.
Although death sentences can be handed down by law, Tanzania has not carried out an execution since 1994.
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