Mummy, they were chopping him up like this…

“Mummy, they were chopping him up like this:” Myron says going into a re-enactment. Well, that’s not exactly what happened but he was attempting to fill in the blanks. This is part of the recount Myron tells me about his visit to town to get his tyres changed on his bicycle with Dan.

Myron and Dan were sitting outside a bicycle shop when someone yelled ‘thief!’ Within seconds a large crowd descended on a man and started beating him, kicking him and throwing rocks at him. A lot of the beating was with a large wooden pestle (at least two and a half inches in diameter; and about four foot high). Dan says he could hear the crunch from across the road as it hit the man repeatedly, he could see the swing but couldn’t see where it landed (he was told it landed on his chest).

After beating the man, the crowd then took him to the police.

Entrance: Interesting parenting conversation with a three-year-old about appropriate behaviour: quite difficult when you are explaining to a child that both stealing is wrong, along with the actions of how hundreds dealt with it.

And earlier in the week:

“Mummy, I’m sad that Uncle Denis had his lip bitten off.”

One of our closest Acholi friends had his bottom lip bitten (almost completely off) when he was attacked by a customer with a knife: all over 2000 shillings (70c; 40p). Our friend had taken this customer to town earlier in the day, she didn’t have the money to pay him and was told to collect it from her in the afternoon. When he returned and waited in the afternoon, the customer picked up a knife from a nearby chapatti stand and ran at him. As our friend was holding the knife off, she lunged at him and took a large bite into his lip.

He waited at the hospital for a long time until we recommend he attend a nearby health centre, headed by a faithful Kiwi missionary doctor. He listened to our advice and received some sound and quick treatment. Denis was so thrilled he wants to take a chicken to the clinical officer as a thank you gift! Not even dwelling on the incomprehensible actions of earlier that day!