Recently, Inspector General of Police Richard Luhanga asked Malawians to desist from mob justice, which is on the rise in Malawi.
Cases are rife of Malawians taking justice into their own hands, disregarding courts’ role. Suspected murderers, witches, thieves and violators of village customs have all faced mob justice.
For example, a man in Mwanza was killed by a mob on suspicion of murdering two chldren whose bodies were found decomposed. In Neno, a mob murdered an elderly woman on suspicion of witchcraft.
In Mzuzu City, irate residents tied a woman to a tree at a graveyard for attending to her roadside business while a funeral was underway nearby.
The police chief, like all well-meaning Malawians, strongly condemns mob justice because it creates serious social, legal and moral problems. Instead of delivering true justice, it often results in injustice, loss of life and a weakened rule of law.
One of the most serious risks of mob justice is mistaken identity where innocent people can be wrongly accused and punished.
In Malawi, there have been cases where individuals were killed simply because they were mistaken for criminals. Since mobs act on suspicion, rumours or emotions rather than evidence, there is no proper investigation. This makes it highly likely that innocent people may suffer life-threatening consequences.
Besides, accomplices to crimes may not be identified. When a suspect is killed by a mob, authorities lose the opportunity to question them and identify other suspects in the crime. Other criminals may escape justice entirely, allowing criminal activities to continue.
Additionally, mob justice makes it difficult to recover stolen property. It disrupts the proper legal procedures that allow law enforcement officers to question suspects and trace stolen goods.
When suspects are attacked or killed, valuable evidence is lost, making it impossible to recover stolen items or return them to their rightful owners.
Consequently, victims may never regain their property, even after the suspect has been punished.
Mob justice also violates the right to a fair trial. In a lawful system, every suspect has the right to defend themselves in court and is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
However, mob justice denies suspects any opportunity to explain their side of the story or present evidence. It is therefore a clear violation of human rights and the rule of law.
The laws and regulations of Malawi emphasise that only the courts and the police should handle criminal cases, not angry crowds.
As a remedy, civic education on the dangers of participating in mob justice should begin at home, facilitated by senior members of the household.
Families should discourage their members from taking the law into their own hands and meting out punishment to any suspected offender, whether a suspected witch, thief, murderer or violator of village norms. Instead, families should encourage the use of formal structures to seek justice in cases of alleged wrongdoing.
Family discussions carry a high level of trust and credibility, making it more likely that members will follow elders’ guidance.
However, mob justice is sometimes promoted at the family level, particularly in cases involving accusations of witchcraft without any evidence.
This vice is deeply rooted in communities and often becomes socially accepted. Therefore, it is at the same family level that this trend can be reversed by promoting the use of formal legal systems whenever individuals are suspected of wrongdoing.
When mob justice replaces justice with violence and emotion, it leads to the killing of innocent people due to mistaken identity, failure to apprehend all criminals involved in a crime, loss of stolen property and destruction of evidence.
Above all, this denial of a fair trial and violation of human rights weakens the legal system and creates more injustice rather than resolving crime.
