Sjambok mob justice putting hundreds at risk of kidney damage

Mob justice beatings with sjamboks are so common that a team of doctors has made them the subject of an in-depth study.

The four doctors analysed 310 patients admitted to Grey’s and Edendale hospitals‚ in Pietermaritzburg‚ KwaZulu-Natal‚ between June 2010 and December 2012.

Their objective was to study a long-standing method of evaluating acute kidney injury‚ a common consequence of sjambok beatings.

“The sjambok‚ a type of traditional stiff whip normally made out of animal leather or plastic‚ is often used to inflict punishment in ‘community justice’ events‚” said lead researcher David Skinner.

“Damage to underlying muscle results in the release of myoglobin‚” he said‚ adding that myoglobin deposits and other factors led to kidney damage.

Skinner‚ from the medical school at the University of KwaZulu-Natal‚ wrote in the South African Medical Journal that six of the victims in the study‚ who were mostly young men‚ died of their injuries.

“These findings contrast with other forms of trauma-associated acute kidney injury‚ where authors have reported mortality rates ranging from 28% to 100%‚” he said.

TMG Digital/TimesLIVE