Priscah Owino-Ouko
5 October 2008
opinion
Nairobi — Reports that 20 lives were lost through mob justice in Kisumu in one month (DN September, 20, 2008) were shocking.
I grew up in Kisumu and have always been disturbed by the irrational attitude of some of the town's residents.
I recall an incident I witnessed at the Kibuye open air market when a teenager ran into a woman who suspected the lad was attempting to snatch her bag.
Instead of calling the police, she yelled "huyo! huyo!" -- the alarm which invites irate crowds to discipline pickpockets.
A crowd descended on the poor fellow with kicks and blows before the police arrived. On scrutiny, the boy who was now bleeding turned out to be half-blind -- much to the horror of everybody around. He had run into the woman simply due to his impaired sight.
Mob justice has been a part of Kenyan culture since before I was born. I have witnessed instances where taxi drivers parked their cabs, passengers and all, to join a mob action, which they had no clue about.
On one such occasion, an alleged thief managed to escape the original group chasing him.
He then pointed at somebody else shouting "mwizi, mwizi" -- "thief, thief". Within a few minutes, this innocent man was besieged by an angry mob, but thankfully the police swiftly saved his life.
But if one thinks mob justice in Kenya is an exception, they are wrong.
In August 2004, a rape suspect was seized by a group of women and lynched when he was brought to court in Mumbai, India.
I also saw mob justice first hand on a trip to Nigeria. It is awful and too easy for innocent people to become victims.
On a cross country journey, our bus was attacked by a crowd of about 100 men. The windows were smashed, the tyres were slashed and we were threatened with being set on fire. What was the crime?
Apparently, a driver who worked for the same bus company had knocked down and killed an 'area boy' the day before.
The driver of our bus, (who was no doubt not the driver the previous day), was dragged from out and beaten. I dread to think what happened to him.
Cases such as these are serious indictments of mob justice. Such jungle justice can't be anything worth the word deterrence; it simply gives sadists a field day in the marketplace. It shouldn't be condoned.
Mob justice has never resolved anything. I have come to interpret mob justice as a pathway to revenge.
Mob justice is a result of the failure of law enforcement agencies and governments to justly prosecute those who commit criminal acts against the weak in the society.
When the law starts to protect the 'higher-ups' and people with connections to government, then mob justice becomes the only way out for the downtrodden.
Mob justice is inadequate because it lacks the careful examination and deliberation required to discover the truth and respond with appropriate action. Mobs are driven by wild emotions and reason is abandoned.
In a country like Kenya where the justice system is inadequate, mob "justice" is just another face of crime: it is lawless, violent, cruel, and arbitrary.
We need to reform our legal and security systems in Africa. Mob justice is barbaric; it is living and relating like senseless animals.
The common man has become so desperate in his bid to survive that, anyone who touches his daily bread is in trouble.
If these people didn't have to worry about their basic necessities, they would not dish out immediate justice.
Mob justice is not the answer to stealing. I believe that if our law enforcement officers can go the extra mile in fighting crime, then this can stop.
In all cases, mob justice is not justice at all but a mass crime.
Ms Ouko is a Nairobi-based Information Technology expert and a freelance journalist.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
