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

and implies that offenders should receive the punishment they
deserve. The research has also unearthed that not all disputes
reported to chiefs end in resolution.
Following the discussed findings of this research, this paper
recommends the following:
There must be no gap between formal courts and
traditional courts in the way cases are tried and sentences
are passed so that criminals will not have a lesser evil
choice. Contradictions between the two systems can be
sealed if they work in consultation.
Chiefs should execute their duties without prejudice or
favour if conflicts are to be resolved permanently. This can
be made possible if some mechanism to guide and monitor
their operations is put in place.
In a world that is influenced by cultural dynamism, the
traditional court system should be flexible to borrow and
accommodate some new concepts of dealing with conflicts
from modern theorists rather than solely depending on
unwritten laws which can be subject to abuse.
Upon appointment to chieftainship, chiefs should undergo
some judicial orientation since these are appointed on
hereditary basis and because some chiefs appointed are
too young and therefore unfamiliar with traditional morals
and values.
Finally, the research gathered that, despite the discussed
strengths, the Shona traditional chieftainship is shrouded
in several limitations that haunt its credibility.
References
Aquirre, A. and Baker, D. (1991) Race, racism, and the death
penalty in the United States. Berrien Spring, MI: Vande Vere.
Bourdillon, M. (1981) The Shona peoples: An ethnography of the
contemporary Shona with special reference to their religion.
Gweru: Mambo Press.
David. M. (1999) Christians and chiefs in Zimbabwe: A social
history of the Hwesa people, 1870-1990s. Volume 20.
56