Breaking: 5 witchcraft beaten to death, their corpses burnt

A Tanzanian court has charged 32 people with murder after five women suspected of witchcraft were beaten to death, and their corpses burned, in a move which could help to deter such killings.

Chairwoman of the Tanzania women lawyers association, Athanasia Soka, said it is the first time a mob has been charged with witch killings.

She added that hundreds of suspected witches are murdered in the east African country each year.

The suspects, among them, the leader of a local militia, are accused of killing the women in Tabora region on July 25.