Indigenous system of justice as a strategy of peace building: A case study of Karamoja Region.

Abstract

This dissertation explores the indigenous system of justice among Karamojong of north eastern Uganda; this indigenous system of justice is used in handling crime and conflict to promote co-existence and peace building. Chapter one is an overview of the dynamics of conflict, indigenous approaches and formal systems of justice. The specific objectives to this research are, to identify the indigenous system of justice in Karamoja; to assess how indigenous system of justice can be revitalized and used to resolve inter-clan and communal conflicts; to understand the role of elders and women in peace building; to examine the possibility of integrating indigenous systems of justice within the formal justice system. Chapter Two explores the schools of thought of conflict theory in order to offer an understanding of what causes conflicts in society. It also aims at defining and exploring the scope and variety of conflicts so that the conflicts in Karamoja can be put into perspective. It further looks at schools of thought of indigenous systems of justice and puts it in the context of the Karamojong In light of these objectives, the research investigated the efficacy of indigenous justice system in peace building. The researcher largely used qualitative research methods in data collection and analysis. Questionnaires and interview guides were the research tools that were used in data collection in chapter three. Data analysis was done with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation in chapter four. The researcher discusses the major research findings. These findings reveal that Karamoja indigenous system of justice used in peace building is more effective. Secondly, the findings revealed that the indigenous system of justice can be integrated in the formal system of justice for effective management of conflicts to realize sustainable peace in Karamoja rejoin. In chapter five,the researcher recommends that some the Karamoja indigenous systems of justice can be adopted and applied with other mechanisms to resolve conflicts like the civil war and inter-tribal conflicts. However, the integration of the indigenous systems of justice with the contemporary conflict resolution depends largely on the context of the conflict and the community. That is to say different societies have different indigenous systems of justice.