Delayed Justice as a Tool of Control

By Hassan Khamis

One of the most effective tools of oppressive systems in Africa, including within institutions such as CAF, is delayed justice.

Citizens and stakeholders are told to remain calm: do not protest, follow procedure, file a complaint. Due process is presented as the responsible path. Yet by the time these processes conclude, the damage has already been done and the outcome has already taken effect.

We see this clearly in football. During the recent Senegal incident, some argued that teams should simply play on and complain afterwards. In reality, this advice ignores the structure of modern competitions. Trophies are awarded before any ruling is delivered. Matches are not replayed. At best, symbolic penalties follow, long after competitive justice has been lost.

The same logic operates in politics and elections. “Go to court,” people are told. Legal challenges are filed and patiently awaited. But by the time judgments arrive, power has already consolidated. Governments are sworn in, institutions realign, and the political moment passes. Even a favourable ruling becomes difficult, if not impossible, to enforce.

This is not a failure of systems. It is how corrupt systems protect themselves.

Delayed justice creates the appearance of order, legality, and restraint, while quietly denying real accountability. It neutralises dissent without confronting it and allows those in power to claim legitimacy while avoiding meaningful consequences.

Many Africans recognise this pattern because they have lived it. In sport, in elections, in public life, the script repeats itself. You likely have your own example.

Justice that arrives after outcomes are irreversible is not justice at all.