(HAITARAWA) – Two young men found themselves on the receiving end of instant justice after they allegedly tried to make off with a small bucket of peanut paste from a market stall. The scene was Haitarawa in Juba.
Locals say the two suspects must have skipped their morning tea because they apparently mistook peanut paste for gold. But as every child in South Sudan knows, you don’t steal from an elderly woman in the market. Not unless you are ready to be beaten like a drum at a wedding. That is exactly what happened. A crowd of quick footed youths descended on the pair before handing them a thorough community sponsored beating.
The paste, described as “high quality and well roasted,” belonged to a woman believed to be in her 60s. She reportedly confronted the accused with the fury of a mother who just found out her children ate the meat from the stew. “Am I struggling for nothing?!” she shouted, in what witnesses described as a tone somewhere between heartbreak and pure fire.
The bucket’s value, a humble SSP 10,000 or $2.17 USD might not raise eyebrows in the Ministry of Finance, but in a country where that is enough to buy a week’s supply of kisra and kale, it is no small matter. It turns out, in South Sudan, stealing someone’s peanut paste can spark more national unity than peace negotiations.
Bystanders did not wait for police sirens. In fact, they didn’t even wait for facts. The crowd pounced faster than boda boda boys when fuel hits SSP 5,000 per litre. The accused were given a combination of slaps, kicks and a few well aimed lectures about respecting one’s elders.
Just as things were about to escalate to Volume II of “Revenge of the Vendors,” a kindhearted passerby stepped in and called for calm, reminding everyone that public beatings might make for dramatic TikToks, but they are not exactly in line with due process. The two suspects, bruised and hopefully wiser, were released.
This event has stirred debate around mob justice, poverty and what happens when young people have too much free time and not enough peanut paste or cash of their own. Some say this reflects a breakdown in law enforcement. Others say it reflects a breakdown in the economy.
Peanut paste, once a humble household item, has become a hot commodity in the local economy. With prices soaring and incomes dropping like Juba temperatures in July (if only), market theft has become the unofficial sport of the desperate. And just like a national football match, everyone in the neighbourhood wants to be involved either as a player, a referee or an angry fan.
While the bucket was eventually recovered and the woman returned to selling as if nothing happened, the story has become a cautionary tale, like that of the man who tried to date two women in the same boma. It never ends well.
Local leaders have not commented officially.
