MBEYA: Villagers burn to death prison warder

Written by MERALI CHAWE in Mbeya

TWO people, one of them a prison warder, were beaten and burnt to death at Ukwile village, Mlangali ward in Mbozi District, Mbeya Region after an attempt to arrest a suspected murderer.

The deceased have been identified as Abeli Mwakajinga (24), a prison warder at Luanda prison in Mbeya City and Ezekiah Gambi (30), a resident of Chizumbi village in Mbozi District.

Ukwile village Chairman, Mr Osiah Mtawa said the incident occurred on December 8, 2012, where he said the deceased hired a motor cycle from Mlowo to the village for the purpose of arresting a person who they suspected to have killed their relative Salum Gambi on November 14.

"After arriving to our village, the prison officer went directly to arrest the suspect, but before he was arrested, the suspect started crying for help claiming that thieves have attacked him and wanted to steal his motor cycle," narrated Mr Mtawa.

According to him, villagers responded promptly and started beating the duo and later burnt them to death. "I informed the police. They came and picked the bodies to Mbozi hospital for postmortem," he noted.

Source: Daily News (12/12/2012): http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/12571-villagers-burn-to-death-prison-warder