Uganda Whose Justice and Whose Frameworks? Traditional Justice Mechanisms as a Way of Dealing with Past Legacies of Violence in Uganda Lyandro Komakech Refugee Law Project, Centre for Justice and Forced Migration, School of Law, Makerere University, Uganda Abstract The people of Uganda have been subject to violence from perpetrators belonging to both the Ugandan government and revolutionary forces. A history of multiple conflicts and failed peace agreements has left a multiplicity of legacies that are far from uniform and even differ within the sub-regions. This has led to a complicated and multidimensional set of mutual resentments, all of which need to be addressed to achieve reconciliation. This cannot be solved by formal justice structures alone. In order to tackle this complicated situation, the Government of Uganda worked towards a comprehensive transitional justice policy. Next to formal justice, traditional justice mechanisms – especially in rural areas – are seen to be a crucial complementary element of this policy. The basic principles of traditional justice mechanisms are material com­pensation, reconciliation and forgiveness, truth-telling and responsibility, cleansing and welcoming, and punish­ ment. The goal is to engage the individual and the community together into a conscious process, through which the parties come to terms with, emotionally respond to, and actively remember and discuss the events of the past. Is nation-building a Western game or an African illusion? Africans today are heavily occupied with ethnic issues – or are they? Luo v. Bantu in Uganda; Kikuyu v. Kalenjin, Luo v. Luya in Kenya; Shona v. Ndebele in Zimbabwe; Zulu v. Xhosa in South Africa; Tutsi v. Hutu in Rwanda; Yoruba v. Igbo in Nigeria; et cetera, et cetera. The greatest unfulfilled assignments for Ugandans before and after independence are premised on how to restore the right relationships among communities, how best to achieve consensus among diverse ethnic communities and traditions, how best to achieve strategies for common consensus, how to place boundaries and limitations based on reason, how to handle overlapping consensus, and so forth. International Conference on Transitional Justice, Zimbabwe 55