Dar es Salaam – Three suspects in the kidnapping and murder of a 21-year-old law student have died whilst attempting to escape police custody.
Mbeya Regional Police Commander Benjamin Kuzaga said that two of the suspects, Edward Christopher Kayuni and Websta William Mwantebele, were killed by gunshot wounds during their attempted escape after being arrested on September 25, 2025, and September 27, 2025, while the third suspect reportedly died after jumping from a moving car.
The first to be arrested was Marwa Nyahega John (25) on September 24, 2025 who confessed and mentioned names of the two other suspects Websta William Mwantebele (27) and Edward Christopher Kayuni.
The second suspect Websta Mwantebele was arrested on September 25, 2025, after interrogation he took the police to Charangwa village where police claim the suspects were planning to meet there so as to go into hiding. At the meeting point, when Mwantebele pointed to Edward Kayuni, police claimed that Kayuni tried to attack the police.
“When the officers tried to arrest the suspect, he suddenly drew a knife and began threatening them, attempting to stab them with it. The officers fired shots into the air and warned the suspect to surrender and stop trying to stab them, but he defied the order,” RPC kuzaga said.
“After disobeying the order, he continued grabbing the officer’s shirt, but due to the officer’s expertise and self-defense training, he managed to restrain him,” police explained. “Meanwhile, other officers nearby fired another shot that struck the suspect in the left leg, causing him to fall to the ground.”
Police reported that as they were trying to contain Edward Kayuni, the other suspect, Websta William Mwantebele, attempted to use the opportunity to flee into a nearby bush. According to the police, they fired more than three warning shots into the air before shooting him in the back and right leg. The suspects were then taken to Chunya Hospital, where they were pronounced dead on arrival.
Police explained that during the investigation, Marwa Nyahega John told the police that they had taken a finger and underpants of the victim to a certain witch doctor for a spell so that they won’t get caught. As the suspect was taking the police to the said witch doctor who was residing in Isyesye Mbeya, police claim that the suspect jumped out of a moving car, leading to a big wound in the head.
While he was taken to Mbeya referral hospital, the suspect also died due to the intensity of the wound.The three men were the primary suspects in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Shyrose Mahande, a Mzumbe University law student whose death sparked national outrage.
The case began on September 13, 2025 when Ms Mahande was abducted by unknown assailants who subsequently contacted her family demanding ransom payments. The perpetrators sent disturbing video footage of the student being tortured to her father, Mabula Mahande said he paid some money in a desperate attempt to secure his daughter’s release.
Four days later, on September 16, Ms Mahande’s body was discovered burning at the Moravian street in Isyesye ward Mbeya. Police investigations revealed she had been poisoned then strangled before being set ablaze, adding to the horrific nature of the crime that has become emblematic of Tanzania’s escalating crisis of violence against women.
READ MORE: Student’s Horrific Murder Spotlights Tanzania’s Violence Against Women and Missing Persons Crisis
More revelation
At his press conference on Monday, Kuzaga explained that the three suspects were found with fake identification linking them to the Tanzania People’s Defense Force (TPDF). Police warned individuals who have received specialized security training to avoid engaging in crime.
“Following this incident, the Mbeya Regional Police Force is calling upon the community, especially young people, particularly those who have received security training such as from the National Service (JKT) and other areas, to use this training as intended, to be patriotic and apply it in accordance with the law and regulations, and not to use it to commit criminal acts,” police said.
Aside from having fake IDs, police reported that the suspect also had handcuffs with them. Police also revealed that the suspects tried to abduct another person from the same family, a young girl named Hadija, but she had shouted, leading the suspect to run in a Toyota Vista car with registration number T 802 BEY, which the police had tracked and impounded.
Ms Mahande’s murder occured within a broader context of alarming violence against women in Tanzania. According to the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), an average of 492 women are killed annually in the country, with rates rising to 53 women per month by late 2022. The organisation documented 50 cases of intimate partner homicide in 2023 alone.
The case also highlighted concerns about a pattern of enforced disappearances that has drawn international attention. UN human rights experts warned in June 2025 that over 200 cases of enforced disappearance have been recorded since 2019, frequently targeting political opponents, human rights defenders, and journalists.
The deaths of the three suspects whilst in police custody may raise questions about law enforcement procedures, particularly given international concerns about the treatment of detainees in Tanzania. The circumstances of their deaths during an alleged escape attempt will likely draw scrutiny from human rights organisations.
READ MORE: Lack of Detailed Reporting Hampers Efforts to Address Femicide in Tanzania
Kuzaga indicated that investigations are ongoing, with authorities continuing to pursue the traditional healer and any other individuals who may have been involved in the crime.
