A Judge says the man who lit the fatal Loafers Lodge fire did so with a degree of planning - in a place where vulnerable people lived

Esarona Lologa was today sentenced to life in prison with a minimum none parole period of 22 years, after five people died when he set fire to the hostel in 2023.

Dozens piled into the public gallery at the High Court at Wellington, some crying as the sentence was handed down.

Justice Peter Churchman says, when a first couch's fabric failed to catch fire, Lologa moved on to another one.

He says the deaths were caused by his sustained attempts to burn the building down.