A video of a motorcyclist being beaten on a busy road in broad daylight by Rangers personnel has gone viral on social media, invoking condemnation and anger. The footage shows a Rangers van speeding down a busy road, and knocking over a motorcyclist before several uniformed men kick him and beat him with sticks.

It is unclear why the personnel are beating the motorcyclist, but many have stated that this brutality is in keeping with our law enforcers’ typically arrogant public behaviour. Others, however, have suggested that the man may have been a suspected robber and that the Rangers apprehended him on the street as he tried to escape. Even if the latter is true, public beating — often by those who are supposed to uphold the law — is uncalled for and counterproductive. It shows how high-handed officials can be; not only do they have little concern for the onlookers, they also forget that no justice system sanctions this sort of violent behaviour.

Many on social media drew parallels between this latest episode and the controversial case from a decade ago when a man was shot and killed by Rangers in a public park. That case sparked outrage, but eventually those convicted were pardoned by the president after reports that the family of the victim had reached an out-of-court compromise.

These episodes show once again that the country needs law-enforcement officials to behave with the dignity and professionalism their duty demands. Beating unarmed people in the streets, even if they are believed to be criminals, simply points to a broken justice system where rage and vengeance dictate actions.

There must be an official explanation of the events in the video, and the higher-ups must ensure that such public displays of violence are discouraged. They create an unnecessary spectacle for an already brutalised society, where frustrated citizens are only too ready to emulate violent behaviour and take the law into their own hands.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2023