Our project began life in 2008 after several outbursts of mob justice in Southwest Cameroon. For the past four years we have been employing a long-term strategy, collaborating with rural communities to increase the capacities of their traditional councils. Our work ensures that there are more effective forums of justice available to the poorest in society, so that individuals will never again be encouraged to turn towards mob justice.
Mob justice is a frequent occurrence throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Individuals are often accused in the heat of the moment and are offered no chance of defending themselves against injury or death. In Southwest Cameroon this violence stems from a larger problem: a lack of trust in and access to the formal legal system and an absence of outlets for individual and societal grievances. Grassroots forums of justice tend to suffer from a host of problems from bad governance to widespread ignorance.
Through dialogue and workshops our project facilitates the creation of fair and effective forums of justice in local communities throughout Southwest rural Cameroon. In collaboration with those local communities we train traditional councils and encourage them to adopt responsible yet practical behaviours and procedures. We aim to strengthen those pre-existing institutions within the community that can support the themes that lead to a more peaceful society, better able to focus on development.
Individuals will be less likely to become victim of mob attacks, and will have access to cheap, effective mechanisms to resolve their disputes and grievances. Communities will have more resources, time, and space to invest in the future, in development projects that affect the overall wellbeing of the all members of the society.
