|
Days of mob justice numbered
2006-07-12 09:40:36
By Editor
Yesterday in this paper, there was a small story about the lynching of a 20-year old man from a village near Tabora who was found stealing green maize from a farm.
According to the story, which was confirmed by the Tabora Regional Police Commander, the youth was beaten to death by fellow angry villagers after he was caught stealing maize red-handed.
This is only one among many cases of mob justice that have been on the increase in the country.
Scores of people have died on the hands of angry mobs, some on very flimsy accusations that don’t even warrant a heavy fine, let alone a jail sentence.
Some of the victims die in a very cruel manner. Setting a suspect on fire with a burning rubber tyre is barbaric, whatever reason that can be advanced to justify it.
And talking about reasons, a number of them are given as to why mob justice is resorted to by some members of the public, one of which is their ignorance of the judicial process.
But the most cited reason is the lack of confidence among them that suspects could be dealt with satisfactorily through the legal process.
They point out incidents whereby the suspects sent to face the legal process are set free soon after being handed into the hands of the law enforcers.
Last week, the government decried mob justice and called for people to refrain from taking the law into their own hands as that was against human rights.
The appeal was made in Parliament sitting in Dodoma by the Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mathias Chikawe, during Question and Answer time.
It was a response to an MP who wanted to know why mob justice continued to take place in the country.
The deputy minister stressed on the need for members of the public to be patient, knowledgeable of the legal process as well as have confidence that ultimately the law would take its course upon proven evidence against the accused people.
He said that those taking the law into their hands were not only violating the laid down legal process, but they are also criminals themselves, as they are perpetrators of mob justice.
The Deputy Minister’s statement was immediately proved right by a High Court ruling a few days later.
The Court, sitting in Dodoma under Judge Razia Sheikh convicted and sentenced three men to death for killing of a robbery suspect – by severely beating him and later exposing him to a mob where he eventually died.
Giving the capital sentence, the Judge said: ”The law would fail to protect the country if it allowed people to take it in their hands and cause the death of suspects by assaulting them or exposing them to mob justice.”
The High Court ruling shows that days of mob justice could be numbered. We say so because we believe that the ongoing reforms promised by the fourth administration in both the police force and the judicial system, will resolve the issue of mob justice.
The police example, are currently re-organising itself with the aim of creating confidence to the members of the public. And when that is in place, there will be no reason for the public to take the law into their hands.
|
