There can be no doubt that SA has a drug crisis.
Our communities across the land are ravaged by drug abuse with its supply chain driven by systemic poverty, lack of development opportunities and a corrupted law enforcement system.
The latest United Nations World Drug report has shown that the trafficking of methamphetamine in particular is on the rise on the African continent with SA one of the regions with large quantities of the substance seized.
Therefore when a television programme such as Sizok’thola comes onto our screens, raiding drug dens and doing work that the police are seemingly battling to do efficiently, public sentiment will be largely welcoming.
The show, aired on Moja Love, is seen by many as the most appropriate and effective intervention against relentless drug dealers running criminal enterprises in our communities.
It has just the right combination of spectacle and intimidation of those accused to quench our misguided but collective thirst for a humiliating brand of justice.
On Sunday, the show was yet again thrust into the spotlight with the death of a suspected drug dealer Robert Kicks Varrie after being questioned by its investigators last week.
The channel's management says while its crew was “in the vicinity” of the premises during the interrogation, Varrie had resisted cooperation with law enforcement officers which presumably led to his death.
To many who support Sizok’thola, Varrie’s death is good riddance.
Why should we care about the death of a drug dealer when their actions kill people every day, some argued.
Only this is not about Varrie – regardless of his guilt or innocence.
The point is, while understandable, our desperation to rid our society of thuggery can never justify vigilantism which undermines the rule of law, and even rationality, in its search for populist revenge.
Arguing against this kind of vigilantism does not equate to accepting or even promoting drug peddlers.
As a society, we must appreciate that aside from vigilantism being criminal, ultimately there is nothing to gain from weaponising one form of lawlessness to deal with another. The only result from this is anarchy and endangering human life, especially those who are innocent.
Our solution to this problem will not come from knee-jerk reactions that promote violent gratification yet fail to deal with the very structural problems that make our communities susceptible to substance abuse.
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