Beneficiaries are actors too.pdf - Southern Institute of Peace ...

Recommendations

Info

Outcomes of the reported cases Rusenza implicated in Case 1 contested the chief's verdict at the Bindura magistrates' court. The court had a different view on the case, that is, to stop beliefs in witchcraft by punishing those who would have labelled others as witches. Resultantly the chief and Rusenza's son were summoned to answer allegations of violating Part V1 Chapter V of the Witchcraft Suppression Act which explains that to “accuse a person of witchcraft means to indicate that the person is possessed by a spirit or used non-natural means to cause the death, injury, disease, or inability in any person'' (Law society of Zimbabwe, 2009). The dilemma in this issue is that witchcraft is not an area that can be scrutinized; it is not easy to verify an evil spell because it's a matter of spiritual belief not of empirical evidence. Unfortunately, before the magistrate's court day, unknown persons set Rusenza's homestead on fire. She escaped death by a whisker but lost all her belongings in the inferno. Through fear, Rusenza withdrew the case from the magistrates' court. Commenting on the mysterious fire in an interview with the researcher the chief said Rusenza was facing the wrath of ancestors as she disobeyed the chief's orders. He castigated the courts for continuously clinging to the colonial era restrictions on the practice of witchcraft. When contacted for comment, Rusenza thought her home was burnt by the chief's aides as punishment for reporting the chief to court. A follow up was made to solicit the feelings of Mupona since he had lost the case. He dismissed the chief's court as “a good for nothing group who depend on money given to them by corrupt offenders''. He expressed dissatisfaction on how his case was handled. He reiterated that it was likely that Masango had paid some bribe. He even dismissed the idea of reporting his case to another chief pointing out that they are all the same. “These chiefs are to be vetted before they are installed to chieftainship because some of them are criminals themselves”, echoed Mupona in an interview with the researcher. Although the cases reported above are unique in nature, the process of conflict transformation applied is the same. In each 49
case the chief's court sought the truth before passing judgment. In Shona, truth telling is valued more than anything else and is used as a yardstick to measure a person's personality (Driberg, 1934). Telling lies to the traditional court is considered as wasting the court's time as well as a sign of disrespect. Any report or claim made to the traditional court is supposed to be verified and supported by eye witnesses. This is why even complicated spiritual cases have to be verified by traditional healers so that people are not punished on false allegations. Arguments used in the court are supposed to be truthful land straightforward. This is done to rid the court system of unscrupulous individuals who may falsely accuse others on the basis of hatred. When reporting a case, it must be in a language that is understood by the people present and ambiguity should be avoided at all cost. When passing judgment, the traditional court system employs the mitigation approach. Mitigation is a process of assessing sentence after the accused has been found guilty (Thomas, 1988). If the offended demands some compensation in form of cattle, grain or cash, the offender may plead for a lower sentence to the chief and his court. Mitigation factors may influence the court to reduce the punishment for the crime committed under the following conditions: i) Assessment of the way the offender progressed and behaved throughout the process of conflict transformation; and ii) Assessment of the damage caused to the victim and future implications of the offence to the victim. The Shona traditional court system values peace. In convicting the offender, the offended is also consulted so that a lighter punishment can be settled. They respect the Shona idiom that says 'miti inokura pamwe haikoni kukwizirana' literally translated to mean people who live together will at one time conflict but that should not permanently damage their relationship (Bourdillon, 1981). The witnesses to any case are vetted to ascertain their authenticity. These are exposed to serious interrogation to check their consistency and establish whether they are not interested parties in the case. Factors determining sentences 50
Page 1 and 2:
Sustainable peace and development a
Page 3 and 4: Sustainable peace and development a
Page 5 and 6: Contents Introduction: The primacy
Page 7 and 8: its work on community, with special
Page 9 and 10: in Africa. The paper highlights the
Page 11 and 12: 1 Women's access to microfinance an
Page 13 and 14: all household members, especially i
Page 15 and 16: family well-being are often higher
Page 17 and 18: “[b]y plugging the gap left by th
Page 19 and 20: As at 30 July 2011 the country's ba
Page 21 and 22: analysis will also be as much infor
Page 23 and 24: not about bemoaning the limited acc
Page 25 and 26: approach the MFIs, is that “it wi
Page 27 and 28: d) Indicators of the social and eco
Page 29 and 30: Illiteracy creates a situation of d
Page 31 and 32: Disabilities: Lessons from Zambia a
Page 33 and 34: Abbreviations and acronyms CBNRM Co
Page 35 and 36: (Murindagomo, 1990). Its main appro
Page 37 and 38: percentages to the gross domestic p
Page 39 and 40: some trees were not supposed to be
Page 41 and 42: formulation will ensure their total
Page 43 and 44: the commons'. The concept of commun
Page 45 and 46: esources in these government estate
Page 47 and 48: management in Botswana and Namibia:
Page 49 and 50: Introduction This article seeks to
Page 51 and 52: esearchers come to study with backg
Page 53: the land US$750.00. Mudzi laid the
Page 57 and 58: The chief's personality This influe
Page 59 and 60: process of reporting a case is too
Page 61 and 62: and implies that offenders should r
Page 63 and 64: Cases reported to Chief Chounda bet
Page 65 and 66: 4 The role of Indigenous Knowledge
Page 67 and 68: enlarging the range of their choice
Page 69 and 70: this also served to promote food se
Page 71 and 72: development strategies in Africa sh
Page 73 and 74: countries seriously questioned why
Page 75 and 76: especting their realities and prior
Page 77 and 78: competing knowledge systems, charac
Page 79 and 80: impressive in transforming poor peo
Page 81 and 82: must be recognised if it is to be i
Page 83 and 84: implications for sustainable conser
Page 85 and 86: Pretty, J. N. (1994) Alternative sy
Page 87 and 88: Introduction The United Nations Edu
Page 89 and 90: Science educators have failed in th
Page 91 and 92: education in this historical era th
Page 93 and 94: esult may be disastrous. The HIV an
Page 95 and 96: affairs and ultimately the adoption
Page 97 and 98: esources, increasing green house ef
Page 99 and 100: years, and yet it is less than 100
Page 101 and 102: Fuchs, S. (2000) A social theory of
Page 103 and 104: 6 Re-examining the role of NGOs in
Page 105 and 106:
that NGOs are involved in when tryi
Page 107 and 108:
to see the causes of conflict as go
Page 109 and 110:
which the oil is located are disgru
Page 111 and 112:
communities putting into question t
Page 113 and 114:
The controversies surrounding NGOs'
Page 115 and 116:
conflict ridden African states, whe
Page 117 and 118:
in resolving conflict and peace bui
Page 119 and 120:
Recommendations To work effectively
Page 121 and 122:
Juma, M.K. (2008) Conflict Preventi
Page 123 and 124:
Introduction The Zimbabwean land re
Page 125 and 126:
Government or private agencies. Thi
Page 127 and 128:
credit facilities, new farmers in Z
Page 129 and 130:
control 49 percent in any business
Page 131 and 132:
implementation of investment progra
Page 133 and 134:
the ice-berg. Disadvantaged areas m
Page 135 and 136:
eventual agreement on the implement
Page 137 and 138:
they are simply recipients of polic
Page 139 and 140:
the government embarks on a nationw
Page 141 and 142:
farm ownership in the country. The
Page 143 and 144:
8 Community-driven conflict resolut
Page 145 and 146:
approximately 800,000 Rwandans and
Page 147 and 148:
their mediation skills.” The cell
Page 149 and 150:
well as centre-periphery thesis whi
Page 151 and 152:
justice In the post-genocide era, t
Page 153 and 154:
marginalized and disenfranchised fr
Page 155 and 156:
summarized and simplified versions
Page 157 and 158:
In Rwanda for example, citizens cou
Page 159 and 160:
Although the use of carrot and stic
Page 161 and 162:
abunzi and the formal system beckon
Page 163 and 164:
Kauzya, John-Mary. (2007) Political
Page 165 and 166:
Conclusion All through the papers,
Page 167 and 168:
About the editor Samuel Maruta is t
show all

Beneficiaries are actors too.pdf - Southern Institute of Peace ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?