SophiaBoutilier's Blog

Danger in Numbers

500 people just ran across the street at once. The road is seething with people. A quick moving current of humanity
I’m in Forodhani Park, the centre of Stone Town, Zanzibar. Early this afternoon the park had hosted the World Cup. The famous golden chalice had been making its way through African cities on it’s way to South Africa where the games will take place.
Always a popular spot for locals and tourists alike, Foro was especially bustling this afternoon. The Cup drew quite a crowd. It was gone now, but the spectators remained, milling around, chatting and catching up with one another.
And then, they all fled. At once the park was drained of people as if the plug had suddenly been pulled in a bathtub. The young and old raced across the street propelled by some invisible force. As a foreigner somehow immune to this force, I waited for an explanation. When it came: “mwizi”.
Mwizi is the Kiswahili word for thief.
While robberies happen not infrequently in this part of the world, those mwizi must be armed with gall, guns or both. Getting caught stealing is a very risky business.
Mob justice, also referred to as community justice, is a powerful force. I’ve heard stories about wayward men that come home from philandering to find their shops boarded up, or burnt down. Some of these offenders merit the consequences, like the man who raped a developmentally delayed girl in the community where I stayed in 2007. He was forced out of his village. And in my opinion, good riddance. But a tarnished reputation or a burned out business is hardly the same as burning the perpetrator himself.
When it comes to theft, screaming thief at the offender in a public place pretty much guarantees that they will be beaten by the most excitable bystanders. Those who are slower to the punch will stand by to watch.
Now, I don’t mean to paint a barbaric picture of Kenyans of East Africans. As with everything, these events happen in context. Societies are complex entities, indescribably complex. Of a visitor of only 9 months I have no intention to reify Mombasa culture as something that I could fully understand, let alone sum up in a 1000 word blog. I can offer a few points of view, coupled with the caveat that these are not complete and should not be treated as such.
A report released last summer identified the Kenyan Police Force as the most corrupt institution in the country. When the justice system is so defunct, what choice is there but to take matters into public hands?
What is more, unemployment levels in Mombasa, although I don’t know the exact numbers, are extremely high. There are few places where young men are not sitting idle. Unemployment is caused by many social and political factors, none of which I wish to describe in this entry. Nevertheless, it’s a feature of this society. With unemployment, comes boredom, frustration, a feeling of impotence (among other symptoms). Essentially: a powder keg.
And then, there’s group mentality. In 2006 I attended the Liberal leadership convention in Montreal. Having no idea of the unexpected election of Dion, I was sporting his t-shirt and cheering from his corner of the room. The reason for my allegiance: his booth had the most left over free merchandise and I didn’t have a press pass, nor am I a delegate. Camouflaging myself was the best way to slip past the security guards. The events of the convention are another story, but one of the things that stuck with me was the near possessed behaviour among delegates. It was like Hitler youth in there. Dressed in uniform, chanting in unison, losing sight of what’s actually happening, we were all carried along on an ocean of emotion. Surely it’s fun and exciting in a way. It’s also disturbing and scary as hell.
I’ve witnessed floggings. Friends of mine have seen people doused in kerosene. What comes after that, is easy to guess but near impossible to imagine. Coming from a culture where people are more likely to turn away and go about their business (for better or for worse), beholding the hysteria of gathering crowds is difficult, to say the least.
All this said, thieves must think hard before they strike. Or do they? The security guard at my office was recently robbed in his home. The neighbours couldn’t come to his family’s aid as they were all being robbed at the same time. In this case, there was safety in numbers for the gang.
But thieves aren’t the only people facing mob justice. Recent outbreaks against alleged homosexuals caused a number of people to be evacuated by the Kenyan Human Rights Commission. Others lost their jobs or homes; employers and landlords feared the consequences of their connection to targetted individuals. Particularly in situations like this one, where fear, intolerance and group mentality precipitate witch hunts, there is serious danger in numbers.

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