Indigenous legal tradition as a supplement to African transitional justice initiatives

Abstract

This article interrogates the role of indigenous legal tradition (ILT) in contemporary African transitional justice initiatives. It departs from the assumption that most African cultures put emphasis on communality and the interdependence of the members of a community. Indigenous legal traditions, which include mechanisms for acknowledgement, truth telling, accountability, healing and reparations, continue to assume a prominent role in the lives of African societies and individuals. However, little attention has been given to the role of African indigenous legal tradition in terms of its contribution to postconflict transformation. Several African societies have deeply rooted social and communal values of conflict resolution which can serve as a reservoir of wisdom in future transitional justice initiatives. In furtherance of the main theme, 102Daniel Mekonnen the article discusses an example of ILT from Eritrea, and calls for a continued engagement and critical assessment of these values in promoting peace and justice in Africa.

The Perspectives of South African Legal Professionals on Restorative Justice: An Explorative Qualitative Study

“…Despite the influence of colonisation, traditional methods of dispute resolution have remained relevant and active in especially traditional African communities (Mekonnen, 2010). Omale (2006) suggests several reasons for the preference to resort to traditional African methods of administering justice, such as limited access to the formal criminal justice system by people living in rural areas; inadequate methods of applying offered by the formal criminal justice system to resolve disputes between individuals where close relationships and interactions characterise the relations between rural community members; minor disputes in rural communities not being accommodated because of the limited resources of the criminal justice systems in most African countries; the tendency among rural community members to avoid the involvement of "outsiders" (such as the urban police and criminal justice officials) in disputes in the community; and lastly, the reluctance of rural communities to rely on the formal justice system could be related to the mistrust of "settlers" or of colonial justice.…”