There’s a saying which goes like this “99 days for a thief and one day for the owner”. What it basically means is that those who never steal wonder why thieves get away with stealing. They as the owners of materials and items that have been stolen by others, can decide on their own account to go out and steal, since others have not been caught. Unfortunately for them, that day could be their unlucky day. Once they get caught, everyone will assume that they are the ones who have been stealing all along, when in actual fact, it was their first day as a thief. So what does this have to do with public justice? Public justice, is when justice for crimes committed is rendered to a criminal, by the public and not by legal authority, such as court or police. People like me who have studied human rights and advocate for justice through legal means, would find public justice quite repulsive. Every criminal as demanded by the Geneva Convention of 1949, has the right to defend herself/himself in court. Why is public justice still rampant?

Stories:

Motorbike incident

Within the outskirts of Yaoundé City, many motorbikes are used by the public as a means of transport to their homes, which are further into the bush from the main road leading to the main city. These branch off roads, have been considered dangerous for motorbike drivers around 7:00pm, because that’s the time when thieves operate. Many motorbikes in the last three weeks have been stolen in a particular area on the road to one of these areas. As these motorbikes kept disappearing, the bikers came up with a strategy to catch these thieves. The strategy was quite successful, in that two days ago, a girl got a bike from the main entrance, and made a phone call. When she got to her destination and told the biker to stop, he stopped and out of the bush jumped three men with cutlasses. They had been waiting for the girl to bring her prey to them, so they could take his motorbike and let’s not even imagine what they would have done with the biker. Unfortunately for her and her accomplices, fifteen other bikers who had been posted in that area to watch out for thieves surrounded them. The young lady was stripped, beaten and severely wounded. She was tortured by the public, and only the police rescued her from their hands. Together with her accomplices, they were carried off to jail. Yesterday, more accomplices of that little group came to collect stolen items, but unfortunately for them, they landed in the hands of the bikers again, and only the police’s intervention rescued them. These bikers were angry over the fact that their friends’ bikes have been stolen, destroying the motorbike business, as well as the means of survival for many of these youths here in Cameroon. This girl’s example with her accomplice demonstrated the collaboration between these thieves. They often get on a bike with previous arrangement of where the rest of the crew would be waiting, so that once the motorbike gets to the passengers’ destination, they can cease the bike. Cases of more beatings and severe torturing were reported, and being an eye witness, I saw the tyres of the truck that had come to collect stolen goods punctured by these motorbike men. The question is, should these men had gone this far? Most people would respond that yes, it was their right to go that far and others would say, no they should have handed them to the authorities.

Electricity incidents

In the same location as the above scenario, cases of stolen electric cables have been reported. It seemed like it was a ritual for the thieves to greet every new member of the quartier by stealing their expensive electric cables. Back in 2009, my uncle and aunt moved to this area, and within a month or two, their home was broken into, and their really expensive cable was stolen. In 2014, my sister and her husband finished building their home and moved in, just to have their electric cable stolen. Other close friends who had also moved in to this area also had similar stories, and this made all the residents to sleep with one eye open at night, just to make sure that their cable was safe. A young man almost lost his life about a month ago through public justice, when he was mistaken for a thief, because he was loitering around an electric pole, and refused to explain to the residents why he was there. They gathered around him and were about to flock him when he said, he was only out for a cigarette. He also said he was a biker, but no one believed him because they had never seen him around there. He was only rescued by another biker who recognized him and vouched for him that he worked with them. These people had complained about the insecurity of their areas to the police, but nothing has been done. In the past month and half, since being home, more than 5 cries of “O Voleur” have been heard in the neighbourhood. Once a thief is caught, they carry all their anger for all the items that had been stolen from them, and punish that one person, who might not have had anything to do with the previous theft. In Cameroon, cries of “thief” are responded with immediate action by the public. They catch you right there and then, and render justice on you, serving as an example for others to think twice the next time they try to steal from someone.

Sexual Assault

Cases of sexual assault have been reported, where young girls are taken advantage of by men and nothing is done against them. For example, in Yaoundé, a young man was charged with multiple rape cases and was sentenced to a couple years in prison. About two weeks later, he was out on the streets boasting about his freedom saying he cannot be touched. So what do we say of the justice system, as well as to these kind of people? What should be done to them? If the legal system cannot render justice on them, who then can? You as the parent of a child who has been sexually assaulted, what would you do? Well, this is what some parents would do, as well as the community. In the same city, as well as other cities in Cameroon, a young lady went to carry water, but was met by a man with a cutlass. He got a hold of her and she started struggling and screaming. Another man was passing by and heard her screams and went to her rescue. He engaged with the other man and got stabbed a number of times. This story was featured on Canal 2, a Cameroonian TV Station. As they fought, the girl ran and called a crowd, which came and got a hold of the rapist and burnt him. When the police got there, he was all ashes, and they could not blame anyone, for they all stood together and made the decision together to burn the man. So what should happen in this case?

Justice Systems

Many other stories of theft and rape have been reported, which have resulted in horrendous methods of justice carried out against these criminals. For example, in other regions of Cameroon, methods such as pouring kerosene on the criminal and putting them in a tyre set with fire, have been reported. Mixing water with cement and forcing the criminal to drink has also been another cruel method. As an advocate for human rights and not writing off the chance for repentance, I would look at these methods as barbaric and no human should succumb to such treatment. Some people would read this blog and call me an over studious student who has no idea what it means to live in fear and in such conditions. Others would agree that these methods are a beyond justice and shouldn’t be used. However, I write not as one who has never been a victim of the above. For precise this reason, I write as one who has been through rape before at the age of seven and eight, and fully understand the pain of having  someone else trample over your body like you were a rag.

It is hard to believe in our justice system, especially when people have money to pay themselves out, or they have money enough to have the best suites in prison reserve for them, such that they still have communication with the outside world, carrying out their business as usual, and not living as prisoners. Others have wealthy families to bail them out, so that they can continue doing their dirty work. With such a justice system which allows bribes, why would the public not take action to protect that which is theirs? They have believed in the “justice system” to carry out its duties, but it has failed them. So why shouldn’t they be allowed to take matters into their own hands? Compared to some parts of Kenya, I feel more secure in Cameroon, when I walk around, because I know if I scream thief, people would run after the thief and catch him. Whereas in Nairobi, everyone allows the thieves to harass the public as much as they want, even inside the matatus (public transport: buses). My Kenyan mom sat in a matatu and witness theft, and everyone else witnessed it, but refused to speak up, because of fear that they might be the next victim. Being who she was, she spoke up and was targeted. She never blinked or took back her words, but the Matatu stopped and these men were kicked out. This does not mean I advocate for public Justice.

I believe that justice is still plausible in this messed up system. A number of NGOs are rising up and advocating for the rights of the citizens, and these are locally based. They stand to advocate for the needs of the citizens, and to take them to the government and make the government accountable. A few years back, these NGOs were nowhere to be found. Hence what I am really calling for, is patience. The past has been hard and the present is no better. However, we progressing towards a better Cameroon, and our young people are coming to understand what it means to bring change in a country. If the system will not bring that change to our communities, our communities will make them accountable to the public. Make the system responsible by denying criminals from early release from prisons. Make the system fulfil their duties by letting these criminals serve their full terms in prison. If it means life imprisonment, then make the government responsible for protecting the citizens. I believe we can get there, if we all work together to clean up our country the right way.

Corruption is a word I began hearing about from a young age before I knew what it entailed. I heard complains of what the authorities were doing, which brought frustration and resentment. I grew up fearing authorities of all levels, because I fully didn’t understand the system and wasn’t sure what my rights were. I only took the adults words for what right and wrong was. Little did I know that I was allowing myself to carry on other’s worldviews and perspectives? The more complains I heard, the more frustrated I got. Being a victim of some of the violence frustrated me so much that I wanted to do something about it. How could I do anything if I didn’t understand anything? I ventured over the years to understand the rights and duties of a citizen, as well as the duties of authorities representing the civilians. I just recently returned home from my studies, and it is really saddening to think that even after the years I have been absent things haven’t changed so much. New rules and regulations have been instilled, but the same old habits remain. As a citizen of my country, I want to understand the problems of my people and see what difference I can make, and I know it will not be so easy. However, I am ready, because I have a greater power behind me. How will I help my people?

Understanding people’s attitudes

If you want to know the problems of a country, get to know the citizens to understand their attitudes and behaviors. As I sat in the front seat of a bus heading to my village from Bamenda City, we passed a number of road blocks. The bus is a 9 sitter, but we had 16 people inside. From what I learnt in school, one would conclude that it is the drivers who bring corruption making the system not to function as appropriate as it is meant to be. We could begin by arguing that they should not carry overload, in order to avoid paying a bribe on the road. That too would be a valid point, in that a good system consists of checks and balances (Hackett, 2008;5-6), where everyone has their documents abiding to the system, thus enabling the government to run smoothly. If all the drivers obey the rules of the roads and did as the system required, then that would bring down corruption in that area of the state, providing transparency.

It is very simple to have a beautiful theory that enables everyone to live happily ever after, but if you see from the people’s point of view, it will be obvious that things are not as easy as it sounds. After observing the first two roadblocks and 2,000 CFA disappear from the driver’s pocket, I asked on the third roadblock what the money was for. For the next 30 minutes I was given a lecture, which widen my understanding into the daily lives of taxi drivers and bus drivers on the roads

Jonah’s story

From Jonah’s (name has been changed) perspective, life is not easy for any taxi driver or bus driver. We give to these people to avoid spending much time with them. It is not because we enjoy disrupting the system, but it is because they push us to do things we do not want to do. I started off as a taxi driver and I used to make sure I had all my documents in order. When the traffic controlled stopped me and found all my documents intact, they would not let me go and would try to find a small problem either with my passengers or my car. If they found none, they would keep me for more than 30 minutes, expecting me to give them 500 cfa at least. When I refused, they would hold my documents. This made me frustrated and angry. When I started speaking up for my rights, they put a special mark on me. They gave me a nickname known as “Netman”. Casually explained, it means “perfect” man. I didn’t care what they called me. I just wanted to be on the right side of the system, but they always try to find fault. If by any chance I had just one document that was expired for a day, I would have to pay not less than 7,000 CFA.

After following all the rules I was targeted by those who should praise me for being an honorable citizen. Therefore, I would rather carry my overload and pay the 500 cfa or 1000 cfa, which they will still suck out of me even with all my documents in place. We do not carry overload and pay these people because we want to, but because they leave us no choice. I however always have all my documents in place. I have just added carrying overload and paying them the money they want.

If we do not do it so, they will give you a ticket, which shall land you in court and from there, you will spend much more money than it is necessary. So it is better to give them the 500 cfa or 1000 cfa to prevent wasting much money.

This does not mean we are not working towards fixing things. We cannot go on strike, because the authorities have threatened to shoot us if we carried out a strike. We have a group meeting for drivers coming up. We are trying to see how we can get our problem heard up top. It will not be easy, but we are going to be heard somehow. We don’t have any authority to back us up, but we will be heard somehow.

Even if this is taken to their authorities, they will not do anything, because the money collected ends up going back up the ranks to the higher authorities to give their share of the spoils.

What Next?

Listening to Jonah provided an understanding into the lives of these drivers. What we might assume from the surface to be a people’s system, often results from the attitudes of officials. These attitudes shape the way people respond to them. Jonah is not the only victim of road control. How can this be fought against? What mechanisms are there to enable the authorities to fulfill their duties and maintain their roles without frustrating the citizens? Hackett, N. Linda (2008:5-6), pointed out what a good government should look like as prescribed by the founding fathers in America. Checks and balances in the American constitution has been a way designed by the founding fathers to fight against corruption. However, not everyone can wear the same shoe. What might work for another country may not necessary work for others? As Jonah spoke, ideas flooded my mind. What if, a human rights advocate sat in the car and recorded the scenario? What if an accountability group was chosen to make sure that the authorities were doing their job appropriately? This is not the first time they have made complains against the police. We need mechanisms in place that are effective and transparent. More or less, there’s need for an advocate, who will provide evidence and see to court matters and proceedings. Unless something is done to fight this corrupt system, people will keep asking, “when will justice come?”