JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION IN AFRICAN THOUGHT

Justice and reconciliation are important concepts as far as human affair is concerned. In the face of unending tension and conflict of interest in human interactions, breakdown of law and order, the concepts of justice and reconciliation will remain an important topics of discource. In African societies, justice and reconciliation are restorative rather than punitive. This paper discusses these important concepts in human relationships while contextualizing to African thought. What does justice mean for the African? How do Africans approach justice and reconciliation in the bid to maintain an ordered society? What is the role of traditional reconciliatory approach of the African in the face of law courts in today's governance system? Through an analytical research method, the papers discovers that the traditional mechanism in the traditional Africa is anchored on the communal life of the Africans, aiming at restoring peace and harmony to bring orderliness to a disordered society. The research reveals that in the African society, there are both the traditional and the modern approaches to conflict resolution. The traditional approaches employ such methods as the mediation of the elders, coming together to reach a consensus, or the use of some symbols such as kolanut which signifies peace. The modern approaches make use of the legal institutions such as the court or some other modernized mediation. The paper proposes for a balanced integration of both traditional and modern approaches to justice and reconciliation for a more peaceful co-existence and harmony in the society.