Gingersnaps

“Justice delayed, is justice denied.” ~ William E. Gladstone

If I had to write the mantra of a vigilante, I believe it would be, “Justice delayed, is justice denied.”

Vigilante: A member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate.

** Just a warning… the photos at the very end of the article may be disturbing.

This begs the question, “When is Vigilante Justice acceptable?”  Ever?  Should community citizens take justice into their own hands if they feel overlooked by the local police department?

If I didn’t know the boys involved in Monday’s incident, I may have said, “Well they shouldn’t have put themselves in that situation. ” Or maybe, “They got what they deserved.  If they weren’t guilty this time, they probably did plenty of things in the past that have gone unpunished.”  But I know these boys.  And yes, they have a list of unpunished crimes.  Probably a long list.  But does that justify what occurred on Monday night? 

A “Community Group” (vigilante group) in the township took matters into their own hands Monday night when they hunted down and severely beat four boys (Angel, Gerald, Danville and Danville’s uncle).  Two of the boys I know.  They are boys I have come to love.  Boys that have a past, but are making strides to change their lives for the better.  I told Gerald’s story in the blog post “Gang to Grace”  and I hope to tell Angel’s story soon.  Danville I don’t know as well.  Kurt knows him better.  He too comes from a troubled background that we will never fully understand.  And Danville’s uncle I have never met.

The story I know that led to Monday night’s horrific incident is this… Danville stole a phone at knife-point from a girl in the township earlier in the day.  Angel and another boy were said to have been with him.  It is unclear truly when it happened.  Angel swears he was not there.  And if the theft did happen earlier on Monday (and not over the weekend), I know for a fact Angel was at work.  None-the-less, at some point a phone was stolen and the community was ready to take action.

Stealing phones is commonplace.  Stealing at knife-point is too.  This is a poverty-stricken, knife-ridden community.  Stealing is a mode of survival for many.  People steal to feed themselves food.  Others steal to feed themselves drugs and alcohol.  In Danville’s case, it is both.  But over the last year, he has become so addicted to ‘Tik’ (crystal meth) that the only way to feed his addiction is to steal. 

So in a community where theft is commonplace and the police are scarce, what do you do?  In the township, they form vigilante groups or as they call them “Community Groups”.  These groups have risen up across the townships in South Africa to fill the gap for needed justice.  Each area creates their own group which consist of businessmen to taxi drivers.  They take care of the things that the under-resourced police department cannot.  They often are the first responders to take action.  They recover and return stolen items that would otherwise sit in a police station for months until trial.  Some believe they are the heroes of the community.  The ones who serve the well-deserved justice.  Others fear them.  Community Groups use anything from humiliation to extreme violence.  Sometimes even murder.  

OK… I admit I may have read an article or two in the past where a vigilante took down the “bad guy” and I thought “Way to go.  Justice is served!”  I didn’t need to know anything about the people involved.  Just that the “bad guy” received due justice.

On Monday night however, my friends were at the receiving end of Vigilante Justice.  And it is quite frightening.

The victim got word to the “Community Group” that she was robbed of her phone.  She identified our friend Angel, an 18-year old boy living on his own, as the thief.  A case of mistaken identity?  I think so.  But because of Angel’s past, the group had no problem believing her.  With that, the group headed out to find him.  They showed up at his house and dragged him out to the street.  They threatened to take him to a metal shipping container in the bush and ‘beat every piece of skin off of him’.  I say threatened because Angel was in and out of conscientiousness during the beating.  He has no idea where the beating took place.  As he was struck with metal pipes and sticks, he remembers opening his eyes and seeing so many people surrounding him.  He thought the whole township was watching.  Lastly they burned his clothes and piled tires around his house.  They told him if he did not get the phone back, they would burn him in his house.   Angel was terrified.

He had a good idea who had the phone.  Danville had been traveling down this criminal path for over a year now.  He is so addicted to “Tik” that he needs money to feed his habit.  And with no job and no income comes no conscious.  He steals.  And he steals often.  So to save his own life, Angel told them about Danville.

Danville was next.  The mob headed to Danville’s house and dragged him into the street.  They beat him and broke his arm.  They threatened to cut off his hands, but before they could, his uncle intervened (so I was told).  Danville’s uncle was just released from prison last week.  This gave the group reason to turn and beat him next.  Danville’s uncle was so severely beaten that he is still in ICU in the hospital.

Finally, there was someone in the “Community Group” that had a debt to settle with our friend Gerald.  This had nothing to do with the stolen phone.  It is actually an old financial debt that Gerald owes to a drug dealer.  The group made Danville lead them to Gerald’s shack.  Unsuspecting, Gerald was dragged out of the shack and beaten with the same metal pipes and sticks used on the other boys.  His swollen face was split open under his eye.  Gerald only remembers scanning the group once while he was being beaten.  That is when he recognized one face in the crowd.  The drug dealer.  How it becomes justice to beat a man that owes money to a drug dealer is beyond me!

All of the victims ended up in the hospital.  Bruised and bloody.  Frightened and fragile.  Angel, the youngest of them all, checked himself out before the doctors returned.   He was in such fear of his life.  He went straight to YFC (Youth for Christ) to look for protection.  He was exhausted.  He was afraid.  He was crying.  He cannot go back in the township right now.  He cannot get on a taxi (the drivers make up the vigilante group).  Kurt drove him out of town to a family member this morning.  There he will recuperate.

Gerald needed stitches in his face.  He was split open on his cheekbone just under his eye.  He is furious.  He wants to bring charges against this “Community Group”.  Just three weeks ago they killed someone during a beating and nothing has been done about it.  The sad thing is, that was not the group’s only murder.  I don’t know whether or not Gerald will file charges.  It may be too dangerous to do so. 

So what do you think?  In a community so frustrated with the lack of police presence, is there room for Vigilante Justice?

Do the boys stop stealing for fear of being beat?  No.  They are hungry and they are addicted.  Stealing is the only way to feed themselves.

And in Gerald’s case, what justice is being served if the group helps a known drug dealer get revenge?

I wonder.  What purpose do these groups really serve?  ~Tracy Cooper

Gerald Immediately after the beating.

Gerald with a swollen face and lips. Stitches on his cheekbone.