Reconciling Customary Law and Modern Governance: The Developmental Role of African Traditional Systems

Although African traditional systems of law have continued to metamorphose and are different from what they were both before and directly after the colonial era, their developmental potential, especially in the light of the modern imperatives of constitutionalism and democracy, has been largely understudied and probably misunderstood. The fact that these systems continue to co-exist with – and complement and reinforce – the inherited Western systems of governance and justice is evidence not only of their resilience but, more importantly, their role in fostering the economic, social, and political development of the continent. This raises the question of how we can reconcile the diverse and sometimes contradictory nature of traditional systems with the demands of constitutionalism and democracy in a manner that could help them play a greater role in national development.