Mob justice cases rise worry police
Pini Bothoko | Monday November 27, 2023 06:00
People continue to live in constant fear of criminals even in the comfort of their homes and cars especially in the Greater Gaborone. On a daily basis, criminals raid people by their gates, break into dwellings at night, attack the owners in their sleep and then take their valuables using force.
Usually, in these instances victims are left badly injured, some criminals even go to the extent of raping women, torturing the victims among others thing they inflict on victims. However, it looks like members of the public feel more endangered as crime levels rise exacerbated by the growing assumptions that the police and other institutions are not doing enough to curb crime. Justice has become a more personal battle for Batswana who appear to be fed up with the rise in criminal activities and would do anything to protect themselves against criminals.
Communities feel that the police do not address issues and that reporting crimes may result in the criminals walking free hence mob justice results in the injuring and in extreme cases, killing alleged perpetrators. Frustrated Batswana have in the past proposed extreme constitutional amendments of presuming accused persons guilty until they prove themselves innocent.
The voice of the citizens regarding this matter is now rising in protest as they make sure that given any chance, they ensure their voices are heard without even saying a word. Every week reports of angry mobs assaulting suspected criminals are a clear demonstration of how fed up and angry the society could be. Compelled by the rise in these cases, the police recently introduced city policing in order to fight this scourge but these cases continue to spiral out of control. It is evident that some members of the public have opted to take the law into their own hands as the police struggle to contain this scourge.
Last month a suspected thief, a 25-year-old man of Masuaditshwene ward, Molepolole was brutally attacked and fatally beaten by an angry mob. Then, it was alleged that the victim, described as a 'habitual thief,' was caught red-handed in the act of stealing, prompting the furious mob to take the law into their own hands, leaving him lifeless on the street. This past Friday, Mahalapye residents attacked and dragged a 30-year-old man suspected of being a serial rapists to a river where they assaulted and inflicted serious injuries on him leaving him dead too. Additionally, that same Friday night, another suspected thief was beaten to death by members of the public after he was suspected to have been involved in criminal activities in Mochudi.
Quizzed about this development, the police said as much as they appreciate the help from the society, they do not condone mob justice. In an interview with Mmegi, Botswana Police Service's (BPS) deputy public relations officer, Senior Superintendent Near Bagali said Batswana are entitled to citizen arrest but even if they do so, those rights do not mean they should inflict injuries on suspects or beat them to death. Bagali also said no matter how fed up and angry the society could be, it does not have rights to take the law into their own hands. He said as much as crime had gone out of hand, there is nothing good to be gained from taking the law into one’s own hands and killing a fellow human being, except for a potential long stint in prison.
“As the police, we do not adhere to the adversarial law, but a legal system, which requires that he who alleges must prove, hence the obligation to bring forth alleged criminals to account for offences they are being accused of before they could be painted guilty,” he said. He also said they have since established that some members of the public while exercising that right they tend to get excited to a point of applying corporal punishment to the suspected thieves to a point of leaving some dead or seriously injured.
He cautioned members of the public not to take the law into their own hands as it is against the law stating that in the past, people were arrested, charged with murder and served prison terms after they abused their right to citizen arrest. He said they are now investigating murder cases or grievous bodily harm cases because the public chose not to report such cases and opted to take the law into their own hands. “Even if suspects are caught red-handed, that does not give members of the community the right to take the law into their own hands as doing so is against the law.
We appreciate members of the public’s support in fighting crime; they have helped and are still helping us to curb crime, but that does not give them the right to go to the extent of assaulting criminals because doing so also puts them at risk,” Bagali said.