Man to be hanged to death for murdering his girlfriend
Erasto Mollel, a resident of Mtemboni, Makuyuni Ward, Himo Town, Moshi District, Kilimanjaro Region, who has been sentenced to death by hanging after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend. PHOTO | OMBENI DANIEL
Moshi. The High Court of Tanzania in Moshi has sentenced 32-year-old Erasto Mollel to death by hanging for the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Josephine Mngara, 30.
Mollel was found guilty of striking Mngara on the head with a hoe before setting her body on fire in an abandoned house.
The court, however, acquitted the second accused, Samweli Mchaki, after the prosecution failed to prove his involvement in the crime.
Delivering the verdict on Monday, Judge Adrian Kilimi ruled that the evidence presented against Mollel was sufficient to convict him.
The case was first heard on 24 February 2025, with the prosecution led by state attorneys Kambarage Samson, Frank Ong’eng’a, and Grace Kabu. The defence team comprised lawyers Alfredy Sindato Silayo and Lilian Mushi.
Initially, both men were charged with premeditated murder, accused of killing Mngara in Mtemboni, Himo Town, Moshi District, Kilimanjaro Region, on 19 February 2023, before burning her remains.
According to the prosecution, Mollel and Mngara had been living together as a couple before the fatal attack. The court heard that Mollel carried out the killing on the night of 19 February 2023.
Judge Kilimi’s ruling now sets the stage for an appeal, should the convict decide to challenge the sentence.
