47
participants. As Kiplagat (1998) points out, "there is a holistic approach to the process, working
with
the community as a whole, invoking spiritual forces to be present and accompany the
community towards peace", The responsibility of the elders was to guide the process towards
agreement which will reflect as much as possible the consensus of all the parties involved.
48
CHAPTER ELEVEN
UNDERSTANDING
AFRICAN
PEACEBUILDING
PROCESSES
IN
THE
CONTEMPORARY TIMES (UBUNTU).
In order to fully understand how nonviolence as an indigenous
principle entrenched in the
African peacebuilding processes, this book to bring to light how peaceful and nonviolent African
approaches to conflict resolution are practically employed even in modern times to resolve conflict
and ensure peacebuilding in contemporary African societies. Below are examples of some
traditional methods employed to build peace in Africa:
Ubuntu:
this is an African concept for a universal concept. Its cardinal spirit is expressed in
Xhosa,
one of South Africa eleven languages as
umntungumntungabayeabantu
to mean "people are people
through other people". It is an indigenous conflict prevention and peace building concept that
embraces the notion
of acknowledgement of guilt, showing of remorse and repentance by
perpetrators of injustice, asking for and receiving of forgiveness and paying compensation as a
prelude for reconciliation and peaceful co-existence. As a peacebuilding strategy
ubuntu
is based
on the principle of reciprocity, inclusitivity and a sense of sharing destiny between people. It is
also a principle of nonviolence which ensures that peace is not only an absence of war but also the
absence of unequal and unjust structures
and cultural practices, respect for other people,
development and justice.
Ubuntu
spirit in African communities is the live force of the principle of
nonviolence in the African peacebuilding (Chaplin K., 2006). The concept is indigenuos in most
African communities though expressed differently. For instance,
among the Bwatiye people in
Adamawa State it is called
Bwaraune
which simply means humaness.
Gacaca courts:
This is a Rwandan court saddled with the responsibility to promote reconciliation,
restoring harmony and social order as well as integrate offenders into the society. It provides an
avenue for the community to gather together to talk, to hear the truth and learn to live together
again. It was used as a solution following the Rwandan genocide of 1994 to reconcile the Rwandan
people and bring an end to the vicious circle of extreme violence (Brouneus,2003). Even if it was
criticized as being used by the government, the
Gacaca
courts had great success in building and
restoring peace in the once war turn Rwanda.
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