What do you associate with South Africa? Is there peace in South
Africa? Are people experiencing hardship? Does the country have an
effective Judicial System? Is there political freedom? However you may
answer these questions, I wonder how many people would associate South
Africa with a scene like the one described in this July 8th News
article:
Some experts say vigilante
justice is the
result of complex inter-related issues. A mob killing or beating a
suspected rapist or robber may be less about delivering rough justice
than about intimidating witnesses to the spectacle, as well as the
"assertion of complete, repressive power".
At any rate for many administering
"justice" on the streets,
vigilantism does provide a ready alternative to the official system,
which is seen as ineffective, at best.