studied for the purposes of this research, with the exception of Senegal, all the countries carried reparations in post transition. Thus, the idea of reparations in pre-transitional states, which would bear the onus for human rights violations on the incumbent, is unthinkable. On the contrary, there seems to be some anecdotal evidence which suggests that “If a state will be called upon to pay reparations post-transition, then that serves as motivation to delay, stop, or constrain transitional movements and reforms‖ (Gray, 2010.1065). An apt example is Foday Sankoh of Sierra Leone‟s efforts to delay the signing of the Lomé Peace Accords to end the conflict. This was a bid to delay the transitional processes such as ending impunity, acknowledging wrongdoing and paying reparations (Gray, 2010. 1092). The role of reparations in post-transitional situations is widely recognized in transitional justice literature. On the other hand, while these frameworks have been employed in places outside the African continent, a study of the African countries, as illustrated in the database results, confirms that “reparations are only advisable in the transitional justice context after a sufficient period of repose during which time the legal and social changes attending transition have become well established” (Gray, 2010. 1080). 4.6.8 Customary Justice Practices Following decades of a violent past, many African countries have resorted to the use of customary mechanisms to seek redress for violence perpetrated, not only by state agents, but also by known civilians, from within communities (Benyera. 2013). Customary justice, also referred to as „traditional‟, „informal‟, „community based‟, „grass roots‟, „indigenous‟ or „local‟ justice is usually practiced without the involvement of the state (Allen & Macdonald 2013). Customary justice mechanisms complement formal processes such as court processes and the work of statutory institutions such as Truth Commissions. However, unlike formal processes that are perpetrator-oriented, customary justice give the victims the full attention they deserve in order to be healed of the harm they suffered. (Benyera.2013) Desmond Tutu27 contends that the African view of justice is aimed at: “The healing of breaches, the redressing of imbalances, the restoration of broken relationships. This kind of justice seeks to rehabilitate both the victim and the perpetrator, who should be given the opportunity to be reintegrated into the community he or she has injured by his or her offence” (Tutu.1999). Most traditions have some form of restitution, but Ubuntu (and shalom) have the additional sense of putting things back into equilibrium that is needed for community health and resilience. However, as was seen in the database analysis, few seem to have been documented, and the ITJDBP data set only identifies six such processes overall, with one in Africa. This reflects not the actual number of customary justice practices in Africa, but is an artefact of taking a cut-off date of 1988, which excludes the processes in Uganda, as well as Rwanda and Burundi which were not included in the data set. African countries have diverse and specific traditional mechanisms for justice, healing and 27 Archbishop (ret) Desmond Tutu was the Chairperson of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 34