Title: Popular justice in the DRC: a barbaric practice that must end
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, mob justice is unfortunately a recurring practice, fueled by superstition and fear. The latest example is that of a couple rightly or wrongly accused of witchcraft and lynched by a group of unidentified young people in Beni, in the province of North Kivu. If the woman is dead, her husband, seriously injured, is still in intensive care.
Popular justice, exercised by citizens themselves, on the fringes of any regular legal procedure, is a barbaric practice that runs counter to the essential values of the rule of law. However, it continues in the DRC, where the judicial system is perceived as inefficient and corrupt by a large part of the population. The resulting frustration and feeling of impunity pushes some individuals to take justice into their own hands, without worrying about the consequences for the victims and for society in general.
However, this practice cannot be tolerated. Congolese authorities, civil society organizations and responsible citizens must join forces to fight against this scourge. Prevention is essential: it is important to inform the population about the dangers of mob justice and to raise awareness of the importance of respecting the law. Judicial authorities must also be strengthened, in order to ensure fair access to justice for all citizens, without discrimination.
Finally, it is crucial that the perpetrators of these barbaric acts be brought to justice and punished in an exemplary manner. The Congolese authorities must invest more in the fight against impunity and the protection of human rights. It is only by attacking the root causes of mob justice that we can hope to eradicate it definitively from our society. Solving this scourge will bring the DRC closer to international human rights standards and develop a more just and democratic society.