Mob Justice

There I was, standing in the shade of an obliging billboard, taking in my surroundings. I had finally arrive in Uganda. The border at Mutukula is a chaotic mess compared to the immigration offices at Namanga in Kenya or Sirari in Tanzania, but the officials were quick and efficient and I had my first Ugandan stamp in next to no time. However, it was another hour and a half before the car cleared customs. No matter which border we are crossing, this is always the thing that takes the longest; border crossing is much quicker when you travel by public transport. Anyway, I was trying to memorize everything about my first moments in Uganda when I saw a crowd of people walking down the center of the road in an angry knot. Front and center, there was a youngish man, trying in vain to ward off the blows he was receiving from those that surrounded him. The crowd was shouting angrily, but he wasn’t saying a word. They continued down the road, passing directly in front of us. One man had a cane that he kept raising threateningly above is head, and I was grateful that I didn’t see him bring it down on the young man’s head. I asked Fr. John what was going on. “Mob justice,” he said. Apparently, the young man had stolen some clothes and, in the absence of the police, all of the witnesses took it upon themselves to intervene. Since we were so close to the border, the group was probably marching their prisoner to the police stationed there. Fr. John told me that it was very common for a mob like this to put a transgressor to death for the offense of stealing. Horrified, I listened to his description of corporal punishment: the mob would put a rubber tire around the transgressor’s neck, douse him in petrol, and light him on fire. I am still thanking God that I didn’t witness something like that. I don’t think I would ever sleep again. The police in Uganda are doing their best to eradicate mob justice, but it is difficult for them to be everywhere at once. It is a dangerous system and excellent motivation to live life to the letter of the law.