Mob justice a growing problem in some African countries

When the mob of angry people takes the law into their hands, the results can be brutal.
 
In some African countries, mob justice and vigilantism are deeply entrenched in people's minds as the right thing to do when they feel the justice system is failing them, says Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom, a law professor at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. 

Mob violence occurs when anger and hatred is unleashed by a group of people on someone they deem punishable. Often the mob is cheered on by spectators in the streets as they injure or even murder a suspected criminal.

Police failures contribute to mob justice

In particular in Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, also Kenya and Ghana this kind of street justice is endemic, Addadzi-Koom told DW. "When you look at the charge offences or crimes that usually attract mob justice, stealing or theft and robbery are at the top," she added. 

According to an Amnesty International report published in October 2024, in the south of Nigeria, mob violence primarily targets people accused of theft, of taking part in rituals or practicing witchcraft. 

In northern Nigeria, however, it is mostly used against those accused of blasphemy and often endorsed by religious leaders, the authors say.

In some regions, mob violence is gradually becoming the norm, and often takes place in crowded areas, such as markets and busy roads, Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International in Nigeria says. 

Many of the victims of mob violence are targeted because of their social status, identities as members of religious or other minority groups. 

The NGO has recorded at least 555 victims of mob violence over the last decade in Nigeria. They have noticed an increase of blasphemy-related killings fueled by alleged incitement from religious leaders, and allegations of corruption and policing failures perpetuating violence.

Violence is part of society

In Nigeria the culture of violence is often attributed to particular ethnic or religious groups. "The tricky part about cultural violence is that it becomes part of the fabric of the society or of a group of people" Addadzi-Koom confirms.

People engage in theft or armed robbery largely due to poverty, she says. Living in a country undergoing an economic crisis where a substantial number of people live on or below the poverty line, some people feel they have no other choice, she adds.

In South Africa, mob justice has taken on an undeniably brutal tone, writes Karl Kemp, author of the book "Why We Kill," published in March 2024.

Of the 27,000 recorded murders in South Africa in 2022, at least 1,894, roughly 7%, were attributed to mob justice and vigilantism, more than double the number of five years prior. In the first nine months of 2023, a further 1,472 mob justice deaths were registered, he says.

Police record the reason for each mob-related death. "Mob justice has been rising steadily in those rankings since 2017, when they started this practice", Kemp told DW. He pointed out that a spike in murders and assaults contributed to an increase in mob justice after pandemic-related lockdowns. 

Mob justice connected to poverty

Kemp says police are getting worse at their jobs. He cites the low clearance statistics for criminal investigations that are closed and taken to court. Clearance statistics measure the proportion of reported crimes that were resolved by an arrest or other means. "Only 12% of murder cases are prosecuted," he points out.

As South Africa's townships grow as migrants from other countries arrive, informal camps on townships' peripheries grow. As a result, many live in dire conditions with little help from the government and tensions mounting, Klemp says.

Crimes in such areas often require a "complex investigation that requires a lot of time and manpower" which the police often don't or can't provide, the author points out.

More efficient laws needed

Research by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) in Johannesburg shows that violence does not occur in a vacuum. In most instances, community members have already tried more peaceful ways to address the issues and problems prevalent in their communities, Director Annah Moyo-Kupeta, a human rights lawyer, says. 

It's when the police and the authorities do nothing to address the community's grievances that people resort to violence, adds Moyo-Kupeta. She points out that violent killings and mob justice are the product of unresolved issues from South Africa's traumatic past that have been left unaddressed for far too long. 

"We are an incredibly violent society and have been as long as South Africa has existed," Kemp tells DW. But one could point out that there are other societies that have colonial pasts that do not reach the level of violence that is reached in South Africa, she adds. 

In order to convince the public to stop engaging in mob justice, more efficient laws are needed, and naming mob justice  as a serious crime that will be punished by law is necessary, says Addadzi-Koom in Ghana.

She says that she has not yet seen an example of how mob justice is being reduced. "We need to create training, awareness and more dialogue in society."

The justice system needs to be able to act in a timely manner, as well. If there is an offender sent to the police, jail cells are full, they're released few days later, bribes are involved and there are no charges, she says. "One of the key things that needs to be done is to sanitize the criminal justice system in a way that restores the people's trust in the system."

Edited by: Sarah Hucal