This tendency for vigilante justice, which should have no place in a democracy like ours- rears its ugly head in the country every once in a while .
An young man unfortunate enough to be suspected of being a robber was lynched to death in Tema early Monday.
The young man, believed to be in his late twenties, was spotted by some angry youth, who suspected him of being one of a gang of robbers who have been terrorising the neighbourhood.
So they gave him chase, were able to capture him; and subsequently clobbered him to death.
Daily Guide, who reported the story, said that he was lynched using machetes, stones and clubs of wood. After the action, the pepertrators dropped him off at Vic Boss Junction in Tema’s Community 22.
Some residents spoken to by the newspaper said they have been terrorised in recent times by gangs of such robbers, although it’s impossible to discern the level of certainty this mob had before lynching this guy. A look at his body showed his arms and legs were almost sawed off.
Even if he is proven to be a robber, that isn’t the treatment that should be meted out to him. And it’s entirely possible it turns out into a case of mistaken identity, in which case a life has been irrevocably lost.