Jungle Justice

I was born to a Ghanaian mother and a Nigerian father, I grew up living in both countries and was exposed to several cultures. One prevalent theme in these cultures is the notion of family and community life, which is considered very important. Respect, loyalty and togetherness are key values and these values come with a functionality. It`s a way to keep the community safe and to foster living together. When a situation or individual threatens this safe structure, it will definitely be addressed by the community.

In olden days, conflicts used to be solved by bringing the issue before the community chief whom they trusted in to judge with no bias, the problem was resolved by applying the community`s customary rules. However, the introduction of urbanization and the ongoing migration flows to the city have led to a loss of these key values that used to regulate everyday life, therefore any conflict that arises most likely results in chaos. Another factor is the present mistrust and disbelief in the police force. People rather take matters into their own hands and this often happens in a violent manner, by performing “jungle justice".

It`s difficult to balance the protection of human rights and the respect for a community`s culture. However, regardless of any tradition or cultural belief, everyone has the right to be heard by a neutral and impartial body before getting sentenced. This is not the case in some parts of the world but the focus in this short film is on the present situation in Ghana and Nigeria, because this is where I saw it firsthand.

I was seven when I witnessed a case of jungle justice, I was playing with my friends outside my house when I saw a mob chasing an alleged thief. The person who was being chased, probably even innocent, never had the chance to share his side of the story or defend himself. He was chased and killed in cold blood and this scared me for life. There was also the case of the “Aluu 4 lynching” in Nigeria in 2012 where four innocent students were lynched to death.

These events, the perceived ineffectiveness of the police force, and the love within a community that gives lead to such acts inspired me to tell the story of Jungle Justice.