8(vii) Enhanced community unity and security
The fact that communities are able to congregate at victims’ homesteads, sit under trees, drink
traditional brews and perform rituals together cement traditional values of Ubuntu/Hunhu,
oneness and unity. This is one important and key aspect of traditional justice mechanisms that
are employed in Zimbabwe in the pursuit of transitional justice.
8(viii) Justice
Many will argue that traditional justice mechanisms usually might not be able to guarantee due
process for perpetrators of gross human rights violations especially in communities where there is
no sound knowledge of the law. However, ZIMCET and HZT argue that in instances where the
crimes and human rights violations do not need scientific verifications or are embedded in deep
legal challenges/innuendos it is possible to achieve justice for past human rights violations
through traditional justice mechanisms. In cases where livestock has been stolen, killed or
maimed, the simple solution would be to ask for the perpetrator to bring back or repay
whatever was stolen. In the case of crops destroyed, the perpetrator can be asked to pay back
the grain or even pay by way of working for that family for a given period without having to go
to criminal or civil courts where the case might drag expending huge resources and time.
9. WHAT CONDITIONS NEED TO BE MET BY TRADITIONAL JUSTICE
MECHANISMS?
Communities where ZIMCET and HZT have been working over the past years have expressed
interest and need for traditional justice mechanisms to be accorded a higher level stake in
dealing with cases of past politically motivated human rights violations. There is no doubt that
18
Select target paragraph3
Add to table of contents