Ugandan thief lynched to death in Congolese village

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Ugandan man identified as Wasafi Abdul crossed the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he committed a theft. In a small border village, he stole a motorcycle. It’s likely this wasn’t his first time, and he may have believed that crossing borders would help him avoid prosecution.

This time, however, he was caught in the act by villagers and received something far worse than formal justice – street justice. The locals lynched him to death and burned him alive.

In regions where people have little faith in law enforcement – or where those institutions barely function – it’s common for communities to take justice into their own hands and physically punish thieves. Even so, there are often unspoken limits, and execution is not usually the outcome. In many parts of Africa, punishment typically involves cutting off hands or fingers. What drove the villagers to carry out such a brutal execution in this case is unclear. It’s possible he had stolen from them before.