The sins to be killed with

Malawi recognises the separation of powers and has public agencies put in place to ensure the proliferation of order, the country continues to register cases of mob justice. As Amon kapata writes, the situation is getting out of hand.

When 29-year-old Samson from Chigombe, Traditional Authority Kalonga, in Salima District left home on the night of June 14 last year, his wife thought he would be back in time to eat his favourite roast maize.

"He never came back home. It took us a day to learn, from police officers, that my husband had been set alight after allegedly being caught opening a bag of dry usipa at Kamuzu Road Market. I am still devastated," said the mother of five.

It is a type of offence the National Statistical Office, in a publication it released some 11 years ago, described as a "crime of need", which it described as things people, especially those that lead hand-to-mouth lives, do to have food on the table and not necessarily do harm to their victims.

Today, the wife travels between Kaphatenga Market, where she sells plastic cups, and Salima Town, where she orders the merchandise in her bid to make ends meet.

"After my husband's death, I have become the bread-winner. It is too much for me. I wish my husband were alive and here with me," she says.

In another case five years ago, an angry mob demolished a house belonging to a 72-year-old woman they accused of practicing witchcraft in Nkhotakota District.

Two years before that, people in Nkhata Bay set alight a man they accused of sleeping with another man's wife.

Those suspected of 'punishing' him went scot-free.

In Nkhotakota District, an old woman was left stranded after people, who were accusing her of practising witchcraft, demolished her house.

Not satisfied, they also set alight some of her possessions, leaving her hopeless and stranded in a district she calls her own.

In Neno District, family members ganged up against two elderly people— a man and a woman— killing them in broad daylight. To date, nobody has been convicted of the crime of murder.

Earlier this week, a mob in Chikwawa District stoned to death a 12-year-old boy who was operating a dug-out canoe after it sank with people on board.

In the boat accident, which occurred on the Shire River, five people, including a two-year-old boy, were feared dead after the canoe they were sailing in to across the Shire River sank close to Chikuse Island in the district on Tuesday.

Chikwawa Police Station Officer in-charge, Assistant Commissioner Alex Simenti, who rushed to the scene of the accident with a team of law enforcers, said the 12-year-old who was in charge of the canoe was stoned to death.

"This is worrisome," he said.

Initially, the boy had survived the accident after he successfully swam ashore but the mob accused him of being behind the tragedy through magic and consequently set him alight.

"The people were from Chikuse Island, which is located between Livunzu and Mitondo to its eastern side. The people were on their way to their crop fields, located across the Shire River, when misfortune struck," Simenti said.

Keneth Manuel, who operates an engine boat belonging to Chikwawa District Council, was asked to lead in the search for bodies.

"I think perpetrators of mob justice should be apprehended and face the law," Group Village Head Chikuse said.

The calculations of Police reports indicate that, in the past eight years, there have been 720 reported cases of mob justice, pointing to a worsening situation.

However, according to my calculations, only 12 'perpetrators' were arrested, before the issues fizzled out and died a natural death.

Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation Executive Director Michael Kaiyatsa is one of the people who have been advocating against mob justice, saying the country has institutions mandated to handle issues related to suspected crimes.

He indicated that citizens should respect governance institutions.

People's Federation for National Peace and Development Executive Director Edward Chaka said increasing cases of mob justice called for collaborative efforts.

"Perhaps people have not been sensitised to issues related to the three branches of the government. It could also be that people have lost trust in the system.

"However, only awareness campaigns can help Malawi address problems such as mob justice. We need to join hands so that the rule of law should be restored in Malawi," he said.

Malawi Police Service spokesperson James Kadadzera said law enforcers do not promote mob justice, encouraging people to take those suspected of committing crimes to court for all the due processes of the law to be followed.

Earlier this year, Home Affairs Minister was at the centre of controversy when he suggested that society should deal with those that defile children.

He later retracted his words, saying he was quoted out of context.

On a hot afternoon two weeks ago, in an obscure township , the life of a 24-year-old young man came to a brutal end.

Suspected of stealing from a bank at likuni township, the young man was cornered by the angry crowd who are tired of thieves in this township.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a crowd quickly gathered and, before long, the boy was dead. He had been kicked, stoned, run over His remains were unrecognisable.

Barely a week later in the same area, two men suspected of stealing a car were similarly executed by a mob.

The death penalty may have been abolished in Malawi but, in malawi districts, it is still alive and flourishing, in the form of vigilantism or mob justice.

On septermber 11, 2020, angry residents of sekeni village in chikwawa district stoned and destroyed houses and other properties belonging to certain residents in sekeni village after suspecting them for kidnapping and killing children for money rituals.

MOB DESTROYS HOUSE OVER MURDER ALLEGATION

There was commotion at Chinsapo in Lilongwe on Saturday after a body of a woman was found in a decomposed state.

The deceased, Martha Mwamunyila, was married to Lyson Mateyu but the couple was living in a house belonging to Mateyu's parents.

The angry residents suspected that Mwamunyila was killed by her brother-in-law, Saidi, who was living in the same house.

When they found the body, the people started demolishing the house.

"This woman was living in this house. She went missing about a week ago, only to find her dead. They know something about it," said one of the residents.

Lilongwe Police Station Public Relations Officer, Kingsley Dandaula, said police arrested Saidi in connection with the murder.

"When we heard about the incident, we rushed to the scene to find out what happened. We took family members to police for protective custody. We have, however, arrested Saidi in connection with the murder," Dandaula said.

He, however, said Mateyu is at large.

Mwamunyila came from Mwankinja Village, Traditional Authority Kyungu in Karonga.

Her body was buried the same day at Biwi Cemetery in Lilongwe.

MOB JUSTICE OR OUTRIGHT MOB KILLINGS?

Martin Soko (not real name) from Kapala Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mthiramanja in Chikwawa is a mob justice survivor. A year ago, he came so close to death over a case of mistaken identity.

"I had gone to Ngabu Market when one person claimed I was the thief who stole at the market the previous week.

"I tried to reason with the people who gathered around but they didn't believe me. Some people started demanding that they deal with me," recalls Soko.

He says the people started beating him up until the police rushed to scene upon being informed by some people about what was brewing at the market.

"I sustained serious injuries and was hospitalised for two weeks. But I heard that the suspected thief was caught three days after my beating while selling the stolen items within the district," he says.

Having seen mob justice first hand, Soko honestly says it is awful and too easy for innocent people to become victims.

The case of Soko is just one among many cases of mob justices happening in Malawi. Statistics from the police show an upsurge in mob violence.

For instance, in April this year, two suspected armed robbers were hacked to death in Chiputula Township in Mzuzu after they were caught robbing a certain retail shop.

A similar incident happened in Machinjiri Township in Blantyre few days later where an angry mob burnt to death two suspected thieves.

Deputy National Police Spokesperson says Malawi has already registered high numbers of mob justice in this year's first quarter.

According to him, so far, the Central Region lead the pack with 13 cases while Southern and Northern regions have recorded four cases each. The Eastern Region has registered one case in this quarter with all the cases claiming a total of 22 lives.

"This is an increase compared to last year when 15 cases were recorded within the same period," he says.

Twenty-nine cases of mob justice were registered in 2016. But with the first four months of 2017 having already registered more than three-quarters of last year's figure, there are fears that this numbers may be on the higher side, a situation he says is worrying.

He says impatience among communities is leading many people taking the law into their hands.

"Many feel that justice is not taking its course; that the police are not doing enough by releasing suspects just after two days.

"But people should know that issues of justice do not start and end with the police. We only do arrests and investigations. After that the court takes over and it is the one that decides whether a suspect should be granted bail or not," he says.

Chisomo Kaufulu Kumwenda, Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) Southern Region Human Rights Coordinator says there is no 'justice' in mob justice.

"We should not even refer to it as mob justice but outright mob killings. There is no justification whatsoever for such killings. However, we cannot also be out-rightly dismissive of these occurrences," she says.

Kumwenda says it is high time government, law enforcement authorities and human rights organisations seriously reflected on the underlying reasons for this trend, saying merely denouncing the practice has proven to be an insufficient deterrent.

Justice Link Executive Director Justin Dzonzi says shocking and provocative crime like gruesome murders, armed robberies could be the source of mob justice because such crimes incite anger in people.

"Recurrent crimes of this nature may gradually build public anger which erupts into mob justice or similar acts of violence against suspected perpetrators," Dzonzi says.

He, however, says that is not justification for individuals to take the law into their own hands.

While he bemoans the increase in reported incidents of mob justice, Dzonzi offers an insight into other factors that could be behind this increase.

It may either mean that Malawi has simply improved on reporting of violent incidents while the actual prevalence of such incidents has not necessarily increased; or it may mean mob justice is on the rise or indeed a combination of both increased reporting and incidents of mob justice, Dzonzi suggests.

He adds: "Without vouching for the actual causes, I would opine that the festering corruption in the law enforcement agencies could be fuelling public discontentment with the formal justice system, resulting in people taking the law into their own hands."

But one thing for sure is that cases of these acts are increasing and the question could be what should be done to address this challenge?

Dzonzi is of the view that there is a need of rooting out corruption in the criminal justice system and ensure that judicial organs maintain utmost integrity when dealing with criminal law to avoid inciting public anger on suspected perpetrators of various crimes.

Another intervention is civic educating members of the public to understand the legal framework anchoring criminal justice in Malawi, according to Dzonzi.

"They need to acquire the general legal literacy, on how courts and other judicial organs operate in the provision of judicial services for them to appreciate and understand some decisions and rulings courts make."

Some interventions to reverse the trend are being undertaken by some organisations working towards promoting human rights in the country, according to Chisomo Kaufulu Kumwenda of MHRC.

She cites her own organisation MHRC, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and the Centre for Human Rights Education which are working towards strengthening the linkages and working relationships between the police and the communities.

Kumwenda says some of the activities include undertaking investigations on some incidences of mob killings to better understand the dynamics around it and what can be done to address the problem and conducting community awareness campaigns on access to justice and the role of law enforcement authorities.

Trainings have also been conducted with law enforcement agencies like the police and the courts on human rights-based approaches when discharging their duties.

"The idea is for them to sustain credibility, integrity and trust when working with suspects, victims and members of the community in general," she says.

FAMILIES FAULTS POLICE FOR NSANJE KILLINGS

Families of the victims of Nsanje mob killings have blamed the police for arriving late at scene of the incident.

On Tuesday, an angry mob in the area of Chief Tengani in the district burnt to death seven people that were said to have been found in possession of human bones.

On my visit to the district yesterday, some of the affected families said Tengani police unit is short on staff and resources and were outnumbered and overpowered by the mob when they arrived at the scene.

Nsanje police Officer-in-Charge Kirby Kaunga admitted mobility challenges.

He said Nsanje as a district has one vehicle for its operations around the boma which is almost 25 km away from Tengani's area where the incident happened.

"We were in Marka when we were informed about the incident," said Kaunga.

Meanwhile some of the bodies of the victims have been identified and claimed from Nsanje District Hospital.

The seven were killed on Tuesday for being found with human private parts, according to witness.

However, police have dismissed the claim saying they were found with human bones.

The victims include Hamadi Halu, 30, of Khembo village, T/A Mbenje, Obedi Walani Alfazema, 50, of Chimwaza village T/A Ngabu, Friday Francisiano, 30, of Sorgin Village T/A Mbenje, Dimingu Aniva, 30, Ndenguma Village, T/A Malemia, Chinamulungu Bingala of Dumba village T/A Tengani and Phillip William, 34, from T/A Ngabu's area.

The mob is the mother of tyrants. ...

There is nothing more foolish, nothing more given to outrage than a useless mob.

Lets abstain ourselves from this crime.

Amon kapata