Woman who died in police custody committed suicide, Court rules
The late Stella Moses
What you need to know:
- Stella had surrendered to the law enforcers after she was summoned, only to be found dead in her cell while in police custody, with relatives expressing concern over the circumstances under which she died.
Dar es Salaam. The Coroner's Court in Dar es Salaam has on Friday September 22, ruled that Stella Moses who died on December 20, 2020, while in custody at Mburahati Police Post, hanged herself.
This is despite the fact that she was found with injuries on the head and neck during a postmortem examination.
Stella had surrendered to the law enforcers after she was summoned, only to be found dead in her cell while in police custody, with relatives expressing concern over the circumstances under which she died.
The relatives of the deceased objected the police report claiming that there was controversy surrounding the death, instead they wanted an independent investigation to be carried out to find out the real cause of their kin’s death.
Later, the family was forced to hold a funeral without the results of the investigation into the cause of death conducted by the Muhimbili National Hospital.
Two years later, the relatives of the deceased opened a petition against the Police Force and the leadership of the Muhimbili Hospital for not fulfilling their duties.
The petition was filed by the brother-in-law of the deceased, Emmanuel Kagongo, asking the Court to agree to conduct an independent investigation.
