Mob Justice in Contemporary Ghana

Abstract

Mob justice/instant justice/vigilantism in Ghana serves as an indictment on the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, creates a heightened sense of fear among citizens that they could become victims, and also undermines the legitimacy of the police and legal authorities. Several studies have shown that communities use mob justice as a tool to respond to crimes and an ineffective criminal justice system. The current study aims to describe the mob justice situation in Ghana through the lens of the procedural justice theory. Specifically, the study asks the following research question: How does the media in Ghana describe mob justice? Drawing data from two Ghanaian newspapers—the Daily Graphic and The Ghanaian Times—the study relies on the content analysis method to explore how media in Ghana describe mob justice. The study reveals that lynch mobs are more likely to subject males, especially between the ages of 20-29, to lethal punishment than their female counterparts. Men's overrepresentation and women's underrepresentation as victims are theorized to be based on gender stereotypes. Finally, the study does not find support for the procedural justice theory. Thus, the study finds that police effectiveness is not sufficient enough to elicit police legitimacy that will enhance widespread public compliance. The study recommends that the Ghana Police should embark on policing styles that respect the rights and dignity of citizens, in addition to being effective, to remedy the mob justice problem. Further research is needed to combine official homicide data from the Ghana Police and other sources of homicide to highlight the phenomenon in Ghana, given the data source of the current study.