Jungle justice or mob justice is a form of public extrajudicial killings which can typically be found to occur in parts of Africa (such as Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa), as well as in parts of Latin America (such as Mexico, Haiti and Brazil), where an alleged criminal is publicly humiliated, beaten and summarily executed by vigilantes or an angry mob.[1][2][3] Treatments can vary from a "muddy treatment", where the alleged criminal is forced to roll in mud for hours[4] to severe beatings followed by execution by necklacing. This form of street justice occurs where a dysfunctional and corrupt judiciary system and law enforcement have "lost all credibility. European principles of justice have likewise become discredited."[5][6]
Notable examples include the Bakassi Boys[5] and the Aluu four lynching.
See also
edit- Frontier justice - Extrajudicial killings in the American Wild West
References
edit- ^ Cameroon's predicament, Peter Tse Angwafo, p 119
- ^ Nigeria's vigilante 'jungle justice', BBC News
- ^ Jungle Justice: A Vicious Violation if Human Rights in Africa, Amara Onu
- ^ Cable thief given muddy treatment in Anambra (Graphic Photos), Pulse
- ^ a b The Bakassi Boys: fighting crime in Nigeria, Johannes Harnischfeger, The Journal of Modern African Studies
- ^ Human Security and the Problem of Jungle (Mob) Justice in Cameroon, Samah, 2006[dead link]