Vigilantism in Ghana: Trends, Victim Characteristics, and Reported Reasons
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| Author | CHARITY S. AKOTIA,EMMANUEL NII‐BOYE QUARSHIE,MILLICENT ADZIMAH‐ALADE,FRANCIS ANNOR |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12364 |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
The Howard Journal Vol59 No 2. June 2020 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12364
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 194–213
Vigilantism in Ghana: Trends, Victim
Characteristics, and Reported
Reasons
MILLICENT ADZIMAH-ALADE, CHARITY S. AKOTIA,
FRANCIS ANNOR
and EMMANUEL NII-BOYE QUARSHIE
Millicent Adzimah-Alade is Social Development Officer, Department of Social
Welfare, Ghana; Charity S. Akotia is Associate Professor and Dean, School of
Social Sciences, University of Ghana; Francis Annor is Senior Lecturer,
Department of Psychology, University of Ghana; Emmanuel Nii-Boye
Quarshie is Fellow, Centre for Suicide and Violence Research, Ghana
Abstract: Vigilantism is gaining popularity in Africa as a means of self-defence, enacting
justice, policing morality, and sanctioning (perceived) wrongdoings. Drawing on content
analysis of 172 media reports from 2001 to 2018, this study examined the trends and
patterns of vigilantism, characteristics of victims, and reported reasons for recourse to
vigilantism within the Ghanaian context. Results showed a considerable increase in
reported cases of vigilantism within the 18-year period, with most of the cases reported
in urban settings. Theft and robbery emerged as the most frequently suspected crimes
for which victims were attacked and, in many cases, killed. The study underscores the
implications of vigilantism in terms of disdaining human life and dignity. It calls for the
need to revisit the justice administration systems and punishment procedures, as well as
resourcing and empowering law enforcers to fight crime, including vigilantism.
Keywords: Ghana; law enforcement; mob justice; vigilantism; violence
At about 10 am on 20 November 2010, a 72-year-old grandmother ag-
onised by a mob in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, ferociously met
her death when she was burnt alive after she had been accused of being
a witch (Ghanaweb 2010). Similarly, in April 2011 news of a young lady
caught by some male students at a public university in Ghana for allegedly
stealing a laptop computer and other gadgets belonging to a student, went
viral on social media. The students stripped her naked and physically and
sexually molested her and recorded the act (Ghanaweb 2011). Recently,
on Monday, 29 May 2017, a military officer was lynched in the Central
Region of Ghana. According to news reports, the military officer – in
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2020 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
The Howard Journal Vol59 No 2. June 2020
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 194–213
mufti – was lynched when residents saw a gun on him during his rou-
tine outdoor jogging workout. Owing to an armed robbery incident the
night before, and suspecting him to be one of the purported robbers,
some residents raised an alarm, which led to the lynching of the officer
(Ghanaweb 2017).
The aforementioned incidents exemplify the phenomenon of vigilan-
tism, which is neither new nor limited to Ghana. The practice originated as
a means of deterring and combatting crime in the late 1700s and became
linked with racism in the 19th and 20th Centuries, especially in Southern
America (Pfeifer 2004). Presently, vigilantism is seen across different na-
tions. In Africa, vigilantism has been gaining popularity as a means of self-
defence, enacting justice, policing morality, and sanctioning (perceived)
wrongdoings, since the police are perceived to be unable or unwilling to
protect citizens from the activities of criminals (Kirsch and Gr¨
atz 2010).
‘Necklacing’, a lethal form of vigilantism, in which old car tyres are put
around the necks of victims and set ablaze on suspicion of having commit-
ted a crime, has been reported in some African countries including South
Africa and Nigeria (Harnishchfeger 2003; Minnaar 2001). Amnesty Inter-
national (2017) recounted an incident of vigilantism caused by over 1,000
Bengali settlers in Bangladesh. Similarly, the International Campaign for
Human Rights in Iran (2015) indicated that in 2014, several acid attacks
were perpetrated against women in the Iranian city of Isfahan for not
wearing a hijab. Furthermore, in Tanzania, Ng’walali and Kitinya (2006)
reported that 1,249 individuals were killed in the city of Dar es Salaam
through mob justice from 2000 to 2004.
Although there are considerable variations in conceptualisations of vigi-
lantism, common to most definitions is the notion that vigilantism involves
the use of extralegal violence in response to the violation of an established
order.For instance, Johnston (1996) described vigilantism as a social move-
ment involving premeditated acts by private citizens with the use or threat
of violence in response to the real, perceived, or potential deviation from
an established norm by individuals or groups, and aimed at offering pub-
lic assurance of order. Haas, de Keijser and Bruinsma (2014) also defined
vigilantism as: ‘a planned criminal act, carried out by a private citizen in
response to (the perceived threat of) a crime committed by a private cit-
izen, targeting the (alleged) perpetrator of that crime’ (p.226). While the
notion of planning or premeditation is emphasised in these definitions of
vigilantism, there is recognition that vigilante acts may also be spontaneous
as in the case of mob justice (Martin 2010; Moncada 2017). Drawing on
these conceptualisations, vigilantism can be defined as a premeditated or
spontaneous act involving the use or threat of violence by individuals who
do not possess official legitimate power in response to an alleged criminal
act or a behaviour that violates the norms associated with an institution-
alised order (Haas, Keijser and Bruinsma 2012; Moncada 2017; Tankebe
2009). While practices such as hanging, burning, shooting, and stoning
are typically considered lethal, practices such as beating, whipping, and
torture, which are considered non-lethal (Moncada 2017), can have lethal
outcomes depending on severity.
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2020 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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