Community Justice

We are sitting calmly in the shade of our mango tree, when we hear a growing roar. Without any further warning, a large crowd squeezes down the pathway just outside our fence. Its attention fixated on a pathetic, almost naked man, with a swollen face and bleeding limbs. We’ve been here long enough to know that another thief has been caught, and the neighbors, armed with bamboos, branches, rocks, and belts, are exacting justice. Almost unable to walk, and surely unable to escape, the robber is at the mercy of the frenzy. He probably will not be killed, normally the mob will stop before that and leave the already severely punished individual to the police to deal with as they see fit, or, as we saw in another occasion, tie him to a tree so that all passers-by can behold the fate of criminals. In this way, the brutish ritual serves as a deterrent to future would-be-thieves; surely it must leave a strong impression on the throngs of youngsters yelping behind the main participants as the horde parades through town, swelling in numbers as it weaves between homes along the narrow twisted paths. In this case the thief attempted to rob our neighborhood mill when he thought no one would be around due to a power outage. Unfortunately for him, the proprietors happened upon him while he was rummaging for valuables and jammed the door shut from the outside. With the red-handed thief trapped inside, the mill’s owners gathered the nearby residents. With the posse assembled, they pulled out the crook and began wailing on him with anything at hand. In the cities, where crime is rampant and more violent, people take local justice to an extreme, frequently killing criminals. The method we’ve seen reported the most often on TV involves immobilizing victims by squeezing old pneumatic tires around their bodies, dousing them in petrol, and setting them afire. Lynching is officially discouraged, but many people see it as their only chance of maintaining order in areas were police forces don’t have the resources to attend to the expanding needs of growing urban populations. Although it is easy to sympathize with community members trying to protect themselves from crime, this extreme street justice does not seem like a viable solution, and it can easily get out of hand, like when several women accused of witchcraft on the outskirts of the capital city where burned to death. Here in rural Mozambique cases tend to be more clear cut and non-lethal, with street justice reserved for those caught in the actual act of committing a crime. Sometimes the punishment seem sto outweigh the offense. Upon inquiring about the wrongdoing of a recently severely abused man we were told his trespass was stealing a chair.