Twenty-three people have been arrested in connection with the crimes, police said on Friday.
“They were attacked and burnt to death by a mob of villagers who accused them of engaging in witchcraft,” said police chief Jafari Mohamed.
Five of those killed were aged over 60, while the other two were aged over 40.
Among those arrested on suspicion of carrying out the killings was the local traditional healer, or witch doctor.
Relatives of those killed described horrific scenes, with the bodies of family members hacked with machetes or burned almost beyond recognition.
"When I returned home in the evening, I found the body of my mother lying 10 meters away from our house, while the body of my father was burnt inside the house," said Josephat John, according to Tanzania's Mwananchi newspaper
The attack in the village of Murufiti, in the western Kigoma region which borders Burundi, took place on Monday but reports only emerged after police announced the arrest of the suspects.
"When I returned home in the evening, I found the body of my mother lying 10 meters away from our house, while the body of my father was burnt inside the house," said Josephat John, according to Tanzania's Mwananchi newspaper
The attack in the village of Murufiti, in the western Kigoma region which borders Burundi, took place on Monday but reports only emerged after police announced the arrest of the suspects.
The suspects will appear in court to face murder charges.
AP
(photo credit: Google)
AP
(photo credit: Google)
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