Graphic Content: Not for Children and the faint hearted
A few days after a suspected potato thief was lynched in Kenya, a fresh case of mob justice was witnessed in Nairobi on Wednesday 13th July 2011. The video was so shocking that Youtube administrators had to pull it down but now, it has been reloaded by Kenya’s Capital FM News channel. Two police officers armed with rifles could not stop the stoning to death of the victim suspected to have been a member of a gang which attempted to hijack a bus.
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Osewe piliss Agwata kiyie.. Just as i was telling my in-laws to watch this space…
ni ywuora nenae kaka agoyo mpira…
KSB: Bn offL bt I wl fix it! Am in Abatabad at the BinL compound.
Kenya has gone to the dogs.
Police officer kills two, before he is shot dead
A policeman in Tana North district on Saturday morning 16th July, 2011 shot dead a woman and a colleague before he was gunned down. The officer who is said to have been drunk was reported to have been looking for his wife when he began shooting indiscriminately at his neighbour’s house killing the two on the spot and injuring another woman. He was however killed by General Service Unit (GSU) officers who were responding to distress calls. According to Charadende area chief Yunis Jillo Abdille, he heard gunshots at around 1 am in the morning and when he went to find out what was happening, he met a woman running for her safety who informed him that a police officer was shooting at them. The chief confirmed that the dead woman was the officer’s neighbor. She had left her house after she heard gunshots only to be confronted by the angry cop who shot her several times after she told him that she had not seen his wife. The officer also shot dead his colleague who was on duty at the Charadende police post when he tried to intervene and calm him down. Jillo said GSU and regular police officers who were at the scene ordered the cop to surrender but he defied orders and started firing at them. He was gunned down after exchanging fire with them.
In the nick of time, the reality of mob justice in Kenya
By Kimani Nyoike
Have you had an experience of mob justice? Is it a case of paranoia or failed justice systems? Are these actions that are justifiable? Can they be stopped? Well, in Kenya today, it is an experience so well known to many. Most Kenyans have either, been involved, seen one happen or have been victims of this kind of abuse. Just to imagine this can happen to you is a chilly affair. But it does. Walking the streets and having someone say Mwizi! Mwizi! (Thief! Thief!), can be a nightmare on itself. So many people have died on this platform of false pretense and street justice.
Mwangi, (name withheld) is a fourth form student at Aquinas High School in Nairobi. On this day, he went to his aunty’s home in Kariobangi South Estate on the outskirts of Nairobi only to find the doors locked. She had gone to visit Mwangi’s nephew at school on that day. A case of naivety, he says leads him to a flat where he goes to the top most floor, apparently, to search for a house for a cousin of his.
What follows next is a blood wrenching experience, none of us would want to see not even hear about. A woman resident now screams for help. She accuses Mwangi of attempting to snatch off her wallet. In a split of instinct, Mwangi breaks into a sprint. His feet fail to heed to the distress call and soon the crowd catches up. Blows and punches follow, the now growing crowd baying for his blood.
Before it gets worse, a man in the crowd intervenes and tries to calm the crowd. They drag the boy back to the flat and start to interrogate him. He reveals the contacts of relatives. They proceed to call his brother, who lives in Kasarani Estate, 9 kilometers away. They threaten to lynch the boy lest somebody shows up and quick.
His brother Njoroge (name withheld), rushes to the scene and in minutes, he is there. Unfortunately, his dreadlocked head does no good in an attempt to save his brother. They still want assurance that Mwangi is not whom they think he is. Njoroge gets the two story versions but Mwangi is not free yet. The crowd demands that his aunt gets there. Meanwhile, the man in the crowd calls his father in Eldoret City, about 500 miles from the capital, Nairobi. The grief stricken father tries to contact Mwangi’s aunt Mrs. Macharia (name withheld). With breaking down phone lines, communication proves difficult. All the same the message is delivered.
On the meantime, Mrs. Macharia is in a matatu (Kenyan taxi) coming from Nanyuki (A city near Mt. Kenya). A traffic jam has rendered the road impassible. She is unable to get to the flat. Confused and shaken, she decides to alight from the matatu and starts to walk, sprint then walk again. Frantically sweating, she finally gets to the flat.
At this time, Mwangi’s lips are swollen and cracks of dried blood are evident. His red eyes tell it all. Remorse engulfs him as he tries to tell his side of the story. In tears, he apologizes to the crowd and they finally let the case go. That is a day in Nairobi.
The issue is mob injustice, not mob justice. It should not be acceptable in any way. Suspects as per the law are presumed innocent until proved guilty. However, the judicial system in Kenya is in an appalling state. The independence of the judiciary has never been respected. The doctrine of separation of powers has never worked in that country and it is worse at this particular moment. I guess this is the reason Kenyans have taken the law into their own hands and execute suspects through lynching. But what does one expect of a judicial system which still believes in capital sentence?
I think “mob justice” is symptomatic of failure of the political system to deliver on people’s needs. People want security, justice and an opportunity to make a living. Unfortunately, when these needs are not met, they then resort to vigilante groups, kangaroo-courts and theft.
Mob justice is absolutely unethical in African society where ethnic, racial, religious, and tribal differences exist. Mob justice has claimed thousands of innocent suspects lives in East Africa, South Africa and West Africa. A suspect does not have the right to defend his innocence and many minor crime which do not constitute the death penalty have occurred and are continuing to happen in Africa.
In every major town, and lately even in rural areas, Kenyans have applied this form of justice on mainly witches and petty thieves. As far as it concerns the guilty culprits getting the wages of their crimes, I fully support it. It is unfortunate that innocent people often get hurt or even killed. I don’t believe that Kenyans are that bloodthirsty as to enjoy killing their compatriots but our justice system just doesn’t seem to work leaving them with no option but to take the law in their own hands.
Mob justice is barbaric and unacceptable. However it is my own view that people resort to it when they are frustrated. Many law enforcers have failed to deliver and people have to live with the fear that they are not well protected. In other cases law enforcers have forged alliances with criminals and this has reduced the confidence that people have in them. It’s time we reviewed the way our law enforcers work in Africa, and maybe give them enough resources otherwise many more people will get killed on mere suspicion of having committed a crime.
Mob justice if ‘justice’ is the right word, is motivated by feelings of hopelessness, that the bodies set up to support and administer justice have failed. With Africa’s track record of corrupt and incompetent administrations it is no wonder that the average individual feels a deep sense of frustration on law issues. Only when the “elected” representatives of government can bring themselves to respect the law, will confidence start to grow. Zimbabwe for example, is a powder keg waiting to explode. In Kenya, we hear tales of a corrupt and incompetent police force, which may not be true or accurate but due to the failure of the senior police administrators to communicate with the ‘man on the street’, rumours can be easily spread! The solution: open communication with police representatives and a police force that is seen to address the public’s concerns impartially.
The general public in Kenya has decided to take the law into their own hands because the system has let them down in all ways! It is common knowledge that the police in Nairobi are seriously short of resources and tools essential to do their work such as enough vehicles in working order and telecommunications equipment. Furthermore, corruption has caused the people to lose faith in the judicial system which has led to widespread cases of instant justice proclaimed on individuals suspected of committing crimes.
It is very simple. In Africa, we cannot depend on the police or legal authorities to provide justice, so we have no choice but to take it into out own hands. I think mob justice has its faults, but it will make you think twice before you commit a crime in public.
Why dont these sub-human Kenyans go for Big thieves? that robs them big money like the Perpetrators of the Anglo-leasing/goldenberg or people like Okemo&Gichuru ?
Mob Justice must be condemned by any civilized peoples and society no matter whatever crimes! In case of Kenya the system of judicial has collapsed .Corruption and the failure of the govt to act has also collapsed