Legal Consciousness and Vigilantism: Seeking Justice for Witchcraft Harms in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Theories of vigilantism frequently locate its cause in the ineffectiveness of the state legal system. The state legal system does not work for some, so they take the law into their own hands. Even in communities where vigilantism is prevalent, however, only certain harms are met with vigilantism. Why are some harms met with violence while others are not? To explore this question, I draw on nine months of fieldwork in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a nation with a largely ineffective state legal system and the presence of vigilantism. Yet vigilante remedies are largely reserved for harms attributed to witchcraft, and typically only particularly serious witchcraft harms. In this article I draw on the concept of legal consciousness to understand why people might turn to vigilantism in response to witchcraft. I develop two themes of legal consciousness-a disconnect in harm naming and different logics of justice-that help explain dynamics vigilantism. My research thus contributes to the scholarship on both vigilantism and legal consciousness.

Automated summary

Theories of vigilantism attribute its cause to the ineffectiveness of the state legal system, leading individuals to take the law into their own hands. However, not all harms result in vigilantism, as it is primarily reserved for serious witchcraft-related harms. Through fieldwork in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, this study explores the concept of legal consciousness and identifies the disconnect in harm naming and different logics of justice as significant factors in understanding the dynamics of vigilantism.