Vigilante Justice on the Rise in Senegal  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Sada Tangara, a photographer and blogger based in Dakar, Senegal posted a photoreport on the rise of vigilante justice on the streets of Dakar, capital city of Senegal. He explains the genesis of his project and why this type of popular justice is prominent in Dakar [fr] :
Il faut savoir qu’à Dakar, quand un délinquant se fait attraper par une foule alors qu’il vient de commettre un crime ou un délit, il est systématiquement tabassé, grièvement blessé et meurt parfois des suites de ces coups. J’ai donc voulu comprendre ce cycle de violence et montrer la vengeance disproportionnée que subissent parfois les délinquants en retour de leurs actes [..] Pour les Dakarois, cette justice populaire est un moyen d’effrayer les agresseurs et d’essayer de les dissuader de revenir dans leur quartier.
In Dakar, when an angry crowd manages to catch a delinquent that has just committed an infraction or a crime, he is systematically beaten, and is often seriously injured and may even die. I wanted to understand this cycle of violence and to show the disproportionate violence that some of these delinquents suffer as a result of their actions [..] For the people of Dakar, this type of popular justice is a way to scare potential perpetrators and to deter them from coming back to their homes.