A Comparative Analysis of Transitional Justice Institutions In Africa.

Abstract

Africa has been home to several protracted conflicts and still entertains the bloodiest of them all. African states have also been very vibrant in seeking new and relevant ways of dealing with such conflicts to bring about reconciliation, healing and national unity. This study examines transitional justice institutions as applied in Africa. The study investigates the choice of transitional justice institutions that African states prefer in achieving reconciliation, healing and national unity after a conflict and looks at the outcomes of these institutions. Of the intended outcomes, this study makes a comparative analysis of these outcomes and why some mechanisms as applied to African conflicts have achieved that particular outcome. The concept of transitional justice relies on the justice theory since it seeks to achieve fairness and accountability in post conflict states. The methodology applied in this study is inductive and relies on secondary data together with a thematic analysis of studies, commission reports and working papers of different transitional justice institutions in Africa. The conclusion of this study is that the achieved outcomes of these institutions are that truth commissions and war crimes trials in Africa have been able to achieve reconciliation and healing by promoting truth telling and forgiveness. Il is also the outcome of this study that the use of more than one institution to achieve reconciliation is more likely to produce the envisaged outcome than reliance on just one of the institutions.