SOWETAN | Mob justice is not the answer

If you ask a group of South Africans whether they believe mob justice is permissible, you’re likely to get various responses, with the most vociferous voices being those who believe communities avenging crimes committed against them is the only way to fight crime. 

So prevalent is mob justice that it consistently ranks high among crimes recorded in police statistics. 

The truth is, however, angry we may be about the state of lawlessness in our country, vigilantism is not and can never be permitted. 

It is illegal, unacceptable and is an increasingly dangerous practice which, contrary to populist beliefs, only breeds further anarchy. 

This is not to suggest that our anger over thugs who terrorise us is not justified. 

Nor is it even to accept that police are doing enough to fight crime. 

Last week, a Mpumalanga man was beaten and burnt to death by a community mob in what seems to be an attack to avenge the murder of little Bontle Mashiyane last year. 

Samuel Tsela, a sangoma, was one of five people accused of the murder of Bontle. 

He was believed to have been involved in the harvesting of body parts for muti. 

Months after his arrest, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) withdrew the charges against him, citing lack of evidence. 

It is unclear what body of evidence formed the basis of his arrest in the place and why prosecutors believed this evidence would not stand up to scrutiny in a trial. Such evidence was never shared in public, presumably because the case against his co-accused is ongoing. 

Either way the two possible scenarios are equally disturbing, especially when considering his subsequent killing. 

If Tsela was in fact involved in the murder, we must question why police and the NPA failed to sustain their case against him, thus letting a sadistic murderer walk free. 

If he had no involvement in the crime whatsoever, we must question what led the police to his door in the first place, a decision that sparked a series of tragic events, including the burning of his house, assault, incarceration and murder of an innocent man. 

These questions remain unanswered. 

However, what we know is that the murder of Tsela, while it is an act of savage criminality, demonstrates the extent of anarchy that unfolds when the system we are meant to believe in fails.