When angry mobs take the law into their own hands, the results can be brutal.

In some African countries, mob justice and vigilantism are deeply ingrained in the minds of people, who see them as the right thing to do when they feel the justice system is unresponsive, says Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom, professor of law at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. in Ghana.

Mob violence occurs when a group of people unleash anger and hatred against someone they believe is punishable. Often, the crowd is cheered by spectators in the streets as they injure, or even murder, a suspected criminal.

Police failures contribute to popular justice

Particularly in Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Ghana, this type of street justice is endemic, says Addadzi-Koom in an interview with DW. “When you look at offenses or crimes that typically attract mob justice, theft or theft and robbery come out on top,” she added.

According to an Amnesty International report published in October 2024, in southern Nigeria, collective violence mainly targets people accused of theft, participation in rituals or practicing witchcraft.

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

In some areas, mob violence is gradually becoming the norm and often occurs in busy areas, such as markets and busy roads, said Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria director.

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

The NGO has recorded at least 555 victims of collective violence over the last decade in Nigeria. They have noticed a rise in blasphemy-related killings, fueled by alleged incitement by religious leaders, as well as allegations of corruption and police failures that perpetuate the violence.

Violence is part of society

In Nigeria, the culture of violence is often attributed to particular ethnic or religious groups. “The problem with cultural violence is that it becomes part of the social fabric or a group of people,” confirms Addadzi-Koom.

People engage in theft or armed robbery largely because of poverty, she said. Living in a country in economic crisis where a significant number of people live at or below the poverty line, some people feel like 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 murders recorded in South Africa in 2022, at least 1,894, or around 7%, were attributed to mob justice and vigilantism, more than double the number recorded five years previously. In the first nine months of 2023, another 1,472 deaths due to mob justice were recorded, he says.

Police record the reason for each crowd-related death. “Mob justice has been steadily rising in this ranking since 2017, when this practice began,” Kemp told DW. He pointed out that an increase in murders and assaults had contributed to an increase in mob justice after the pandemic lockdowns.

Popular justice linked to poverty

Kemp says the police are doing their job less and less well. He cites the low statistics of criminal investigations closed and brought to court. Clearance statistics measure the proportion of reported crimes that were solved by arrest or other means. “Only 12 percent of murder cases result in prosecutions,” he points out.

As South Africa’s townships expand with the arrival of migrants from other countries, informal camps on the outskirts of townships are increasing. As a result, many are living in dire conditions, with little help from the government and in conditions where tensions are rising, Klemp says.

Crimes committed in such areas often require a “complex investigation that requires a lot of time and manpower”, which the police often cannot or cannot carry out, the author points out.

More effective laws are needed

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

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

“We are an incredibly violent society and have been for as long as South Africa has existed,” Kemp told DW. But it could be pointed out that there are other societies which have a colonial past and which do not reach the level of violence reached in South Africa, she adds.

In order to convince the public to stop engaging in mob justice, more effective laws are needed, and there is a need to designate mob justice as a serious crime that will be punished by law, says Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom of the Ghana.

She says she has yet to see an example of a reduction in mob justice: “We need to create training, awareness and more dialogue in society.”

The justice system must also be able to act in a timely manner. If an offender is sent to the police, the prison cells are full, he is released a few days later, there are bribes and there are no charges, she says. “One of the key things to do is to clean up the criminal justice system in a way that restores public confidence in the system.”

This article was edited by Sarah Hucal.