Campaign launched against mob justice

The eThekwini municipality is trying to stay one step ahead of mob justice instigators by educating residents about human rights and how not to violate them.

The biggest metro in KZN on Wednesday hosted a seminar as part of the Human Rights Day celebrations.

Human Rights Day celebrations were held across the country on Wednesday.

The Metro’s communications officer, Vuyo Gwala said: “The seminar provided a platform for discussion on the subject of human rights with particular focus on the mob justice phenomenon as a case of human rights violation.”

The seminar was also aimed at informing and educating using input from a diverse panel and dialogue with the audience.

The theme of the seminar was “Mob Justice/Injustice: A blind quest for revenge, a symptom of lack of human rights understanding or an indictment on law enforcement and justice system”.

There has been a significant rise in the number of mob justice cases in the Eastern and the Western Cape, where crime suspects have been killed by mobs using the dreaded necklace method which involves placing a tyre around the victims neck and then setting it alight.

“Mob justice happens due to lack of appreciation and understanding for justice,” said Gwala.


(2012-03-23/thenewage)