JSS-41-3-335-14-1732-Benyera-E-Tx[4].pmd © Kamla-Raj 2014 J Soc Sci, 41(3): 335-344 (2014) Exploring Zimbabwe’s Traditional Transitional Justice Mechanisms Everisto Benyera Department of Political Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, 0003 E-mail: benyee@unisa.ac.za, ebenyera@gmail.com KEYWORDS Transitional Justice. Ngozi. Healing. Nyaradzo. Guva. Nhimbe ABSTRACT Before the institutionalisation of Rwanda’s gacaca courts, transitional justice was predominantly viewed as a western concept which was more legal and punitive. This paper positions traditional transitional justice mechanisms currently at work in Zimbabwe as viable concomitants in the field of justice, healing and reconciliation. Through a case study of Gokwe District in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe the study discusses the various grassroots mechanisms used in Zimbabwe to achieve restorative and dignified healing and reconciliation to both the victim and the offender. The paper concluded that for transitional justice to achieve healing, closure, and reconciliation; it requires bottom-up and victim centred mechanisms; familiar to both the victim and the offender. INTRODUCTION This paper demonstrates the viability of what it terms realist traditional transitional justice mech- anisms used in Zimbabwe’s rural areas1. This anal- ysis resonates with theoretical calls for Africa to reinvent its traditions to solve its transitional jus- tice challenges made by, among others, Ranger (1985: 287-321) and Bangura (2005: 11). African tradition is founded onAfrican philosophy and Bangura believes that in order for the philosophy of African solutions for African problems to work, African scholars need to revisit African history, especially oral history, to identify and implement best practices. These solutions are underpinned by African philosophical values such as hunhu/ ubuntu and ought to be incorporated into global human rights instruments such as the Interna- tional Criminal Court (ICC) Statute and other sim- ilar human rights declarations (Samkange and Samkange 1979). This paper presents a set of traditional insti- tutions used in Zimbabwe to achieve healing, truth telling and closure. These modes of every- day healing and reconciliation include the tradi- tional institutions of ngozi (avenging spirit)2, botso (self-shaming)3, chenura (cleansing cere- monies)4, nhimbe (community working groups)5 and nyaradzo (memorials)6. These institutions are underpinned by the African philosophy of hunhu/ubuntu. Characterising the role of hun- hu/ubuntu in transitional justice, Biko (2002 46- 47) noted that hunhu/ubuntu is the human face to transitional justice which Africa offers to the world. The paper consolidates the above Shona customary institutions into what it terms realist transitional justice mechanisms which by defi- nition are set of bottom-up, non-legal, victim- centred broad-based, continuous redress mech- anisms that heal and reconcile communities frag- mented by gross violations of human rights. These are anchored in the African philosophy- which crystallizes humanity around communal solidarity and their opposite is idealist transi- tional justice mechanisms such as prosecutions. By definition hunhu/ubuntu encapsulates that the self is defined by its relationships with other beings, happiness and fulfilment are found in relations between individuals (Nabudere 2011: 10; Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2007b: 26). There is dearth of literature that addresses the use of traditional institutions as transitional justice mechanisms in Zimbabwe. The closest was Tirivangani (2011), who looked at the institution of ngozi from a metaphysical perspective. He consolidated the definition and categorisation of ngoziand shed light on the various forms of ngozi, which until then were either confused at the very least, or often collapsed into one. However, his work did not venture into the efficacy of the insti- tution of ngozi and other related traditional insti- tutions used for truth seeking, healing and com- munity based peace building. SITUATING REALIST TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE MECHANISMS IN HUNHU/UBUNTU Realist transitional justice mechanisms are premised on hunhu/ubuntu which, according to 336 EVERISTO BENYERA Samkange and Samkange (1979), is an ideology of reciprocity, a tradition of giving as well as taking and of limiting the powers of authority and a respect for human rights. For Ndlovu-Gat- sheni, the strength of hunhu/ubuntu as a philo- sophical base for African realist transitional jus- tice mechanisms is its ability to permeate the broad spectrum of African civilisations. Accord- ing to Bangura (2005: 13-53), the efficacy of hun- hu/ubuntu as the base theory for realist transi- tional justice can be located in its ability to tran- scend pedagogy, andragogy, ergonagy and heutalogy. There are certain characteristics that under- pin hunhu/ubuntu which are relevant to the con- ceptualisation of realist transitional justice. These are reciprocity, limitation of power, respect for human rights, acknowledgement of wrong- doing, communal solidarity, unity, humanity de- spite differences, and the inextricability of hu- manity. These ideals are already inherent in most rural societies and recalling them when imple- menting transitional justice programs is accom- plishable. Traditional transitional justice mech- anismspursue these values in a manner that seeks to balance restorative and retributive justice (du Plessisand Ford 2008: 3). Retributive justice goes beyond punishing the offender and leans to- wards vindicating the victim (Morse and Max- well 2001: 3). Restorative justice emphasises bottom-up processes found in ordinary citizens’ experiences and is concerned with taking steps that the victims feel will set things right. This is in contrast to idealist transitional justice mecha- nismswhich involve theelite who present them- selves in various forms, such as peacemakers, truth commissioners, prosecutors, and attorneys (Braithwaite 2000). In Africa in general and Zimbabwe in partic- ular, traditional transitional justice mechanisms gained popularity and acceptance after the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). This may be attributed, inter alia, to the United Nation’s position on traditional transi- tional justice articulated by the then Secretary General Kofi Annan who, in his August 2004 Report on rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and post conflict societies noted that: …due regard must be given to indigenous and informal traditions for administering jus- tice or settling disputes, to help them to contin- ue their often vital role and to do so in confor- mity with both international and local tradi- tion (United Nations Reportof the Secretary General 2004). Customary institutions such as dare/idale (traditional courts), preside over both civil and criminal cases, including transitional justice cas- es. Customary law which is the primary custodi- an of traditional transitional justice mechanisms hands down rulings through chiefs and headmen which are binding on both victims and offenders thus validating these mechanisms as live con- comitants of grassroots transitional justice. EXPLORING ZIMBABWE’S TRADITIONAL TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE MECHANISMS Transitional justice refers to a wide range of mechanism and institutions used in response to gross violations of human rights. Such mecha- nisms could be a set of judicial or non-judicial measures implemented by post conflict commu- nities to redress historical legacies of massive human rights abuses (Hayner 2003; Shea 2000). At a different level, it is concerned with the choic- es, mechanisms, and the quality of justice imple- mented by states emerging from episodes of gross human rights abuses such as, civil wars and totalitarian rule, to respond to past oppres- sion and injustice while constructing a new fu- ture based on democracy and the rule of law. The most common transitional justice choices are amnesties and pardons, criminal sanctions such as prosecution before domestic or interna- tional tribunals, non-criminal sanctions like vet- ting and lustration, commissions of inquiry and truth and reconciliation commissions. However, these mechanisms have been of late expanded to cover customary institutions that are being used as transitional justice mechanisms mainly to seek reconciliation and peace building. These mechanisms form the crux of this paper. The Case Study In an interview in Gokwe District in the Mid- lands Province on 22 September 2012, Chief Njer- ere shed some light on the link between African tradition and transitional justice mechanisms. Gokwe District was chosen as a case study be- cause it has vast populations of Shona and Nde- bele speakers, Zimbabwe’s two biggest ethnic groups. It is also the site of some of the most EXPLORING ZIMBABWE’S TRADITIONAL TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE 337 horrifying episodes of human rights abuses, in- cluding the 1982-83 Gukurahundi7genocide. During the interview, Chief Njerere highlight- ed that Zimbabweans value their ‘living dead’. They are ‘living dead’ because about a year af- ter the death of an adult, certain rites and rituals, referred to as kurovaguva, magadziro/umbuy- iso, are performed by the right people, at the right time and using the correct cultural proce- dures. These rituals are believed to allow the return of the dead person’s spirit to the family so that s/he can assume the ancestral responsi- bilities of protecting and blessing the family. If s/he dies unnaturally, there is a belief that s/he will not be able to assume these ancestral re- sponsibilities. The family and the community are aggrieved because they would have been de- prived of the protection and blessings of one of their ancestors. The dead person is believed to be equally angry because they would have been deprivedof an opportunity of contributing to the prosperity and security of the family. It is against this background that traditional transitional jus- tice mechanisms have gained popularity. In this regard, those who died as a result of politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe deserve to ‘re- turn home’ so that they can protect their families and communities from circumstances similar to those which led to their own demise. However, if a deceased person is to ‘return’ with ancestral responsibilities, certain rites and rituals must be performed. These traditional institutions have found application and relevance in transitional justice and will be discussed in the next section. TRADITIONAL RITUALS PERFORMED AS TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE A combination of traditional transitional jus- tice mechanisms, have long been used in Zim- babwe. In a key informant interview in Harare on 29 September 2011, Professor of African Lan- guages and Literature at the University of Zim- babwe, George Kahari, revealed that traditional rituals that predate colonialism were adapted to fill the void created by the twin catastrophe of the lack of an official transitional justice pro- gramme in Zimbabwe and the blatantly biased manner in which the judiciary operated. It must be noted that mass violence by civilians on ci- vilians is a relatively new phenomenon in Zim- babwe. Prior to the land reform related human rights violations; violence in Zimbabwe was pre- dominantly perpetrated by soldiers on soldiers or by soldiers/police on civilians, something which the state justified as systemic violence necessary for the attainment of greater emanci- pation (emancipatory violence). The same is offi- cial argument in favour of the 1982-83 Matebele- land genocide perpetrated by a division of the Zimbabwe National Army; the North Korean trained 5th Brigade on predominantly Ndebele- speaking civilians. This new form of mass violence, perpetrated by civilians on civilians, resulted in the use of traditional transitional justice mechanisms in order to fight injustice perpetrated, not only by state agents, but by known civilians, from with- in communities. To accomplish both justice and reconciliation, the following rituals were noted as commonly practised in Zimbabwe’s rural ar- eas: nyaradzo (memorial service), ngozi (aveng- ing spirit), kurova guva also known in some parts of Zimbabwe as magadziroor umbuyiso (bring- ing back the spirit of the deceased) and botso (self-shaming). However, in order for these ritu- als to take place other ceremonies are used to bring the victims and the perpetrators together in the presence of the community, for the first time since the violence took place. This forms the first part of the reconciliation process name- ly, facing reality.8 These institutions guarantee not only that offenders face the reality of their wrongful actions, but also that they face their victims in person in the presence of the whole community, so that they realise the magnitude of their crime. To facilitate the process of facing reality, certain traditional ceremonies and insti- tutions are employed, including nhimbe/ilima, (community working groups). These communi- ty working groups also give opportunities for truth-telling platforms. Repentance occurred publicly during these community working group sessions. Issues of restitution were also dis- cussed and moderated during these sessions by a ‘go-between’, known as sahwira. This is a respect and trusted elder in the community who is a friend of the offender’s family friend. The final stage in the reconciliation process was host- ing of a memorial service (nyaradzo) and then another set of rituals and ceremonies meant to bring back the spirit of the deceased as an an- cestor (kurova guva). The ultimate aim of these ceremonies was to reconcile the two families and in the process bring closure to both the victim’s and the perpetrator’s families. 338 EVERISTO BENYERA These rituals and ceremonies could not be conducted during the politically motivated vio- lence era when the atrocities were committed: they were shelved pending the normalisation of the political environment which occurred when the Government of National Unity was formed. In cases where the perpetrators were unknown, or when they refused to cooperate, the institu- tion of ngoziis employed by the victim’s family as a last resort to force the family of the perpetrator(s) to initiate the reconciliation pro- cess (Chief Ngonidzashe Marongwe 2013. pers comm., 2 April). Ngozi proved efficacious in forc- ing offenders to take responsibility, and secured confessions (truth telling) which led to the pay- ment of restitution and culminating in reconcili- ation. Only when this had been finalised could the central rituals of nyaradzo and kurova guva occur. Other institutions used to support the above rituals and ceremonies were usahwira (family friendship), Tree of Life, botso (self-sham- ing), chenura (cleansing) and gata (spiritual au- topsy). The next section discusses some of the traditional institutions used in Zimbabwe to achieve healing and truth telling. Nhimbe/ilima (Community Working Group) Nhimbe/ilima is the most basic traditional transitional justice mechanism observed in Zim- babwe. As a transitional justice institution nhimbe is mostly used to make offenders face the reality of their actions and take responsibil- ity for their wrongdoings. It is used in cases where the offenders are known to the victims and live in the same community. In 2008, a non- governmental organisation, Heal Zimbabwe, was formed to assist perpetrators to seek closure and reconciliation with victims’ families through the nhimbe/ilima mechanism. Heal Zimbabwe cre- ated enabling environments for estranged fami- lies to come together and talk about their differ- ences. Nhimbe/ilima is a traditional communal African practice where communities pool their resources and labour to assist, usually vulnera- ble members of the community. It is a social se- curity mechanism, which, inter alia, ensures food security through gathering community members to perform certain tasks which the vul- nerable family is struggling to cope with. These community working groups have also been ef- fective in assisting child-headed households during the ploughing and harvesting seasons. Nhimbe’s strength lies in its numbers: where a family of two would need weeks to plough the fields, community members would perform the same tasks in hours. Heal Zimbabwe, therefore, adopted a community food security mechanism which upholds the principles of hunhu/ubun- tuand turned it into a peace building and recon- ciliation mechanism. When used as a transitional justice mecha- nism, nhimbe/ilimarelieson a third party or mid- dleman known as sahwira (family friend). The Sahwira initiates the process by encouraging the two families to hold a nhimbe in the victim’s field. Community leaders such as headmen are involved in the planning, give pre-approval, and participate in the nhimbe. When the villagers gather at the victim’s field, work starts in ear- nest. The tasks include hoeing the field or har- vesting ripe cotton. It is during these proceed- ings that the sahwira breaks the proverbial ice and brings the issue of human rights abuse into the discussion. As will be discussed later, the perpetrator is asked to narrate what happened on the fateful day, while the victim’s familyasks questions, usually through the sahwira, who is also the mediator. This process, in transitional justice is the truth telling phase and is part of the healing progression; the family of the victim and community will hear the exact circumstanc- es that led to the victim’s death. The efficacy of this mechanism is it allows for truth telling and, in some instances, reconcil- iation, and where necessary promises of repara- tion, leading to memorialisation. All these are key pillars of an effective transitional justice mechanism. Where in the past communities were afraid to attend or organise community working groups, Heal Zimbabwe created an enabling en- vironment to turn these occasions into oppor- tunities for community peace building, healing and reconciliation. The organisation also often invited the police to deter any violence. Truth Telling and Reconciliation during Nhimbe/Ilima Two key components of transitional justice are truth telling and reconciliation. In realist tran- sitional justice mechanisms, these components are embedded in the consummation of nhimbe/ ilima. While pooling labour for a disadvantaged community member is the original thrust of nhimbe/ilima, in the aftermath of intra-commu- EXPLORING ZIMBABWE’S TRADITIONAL TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE 339 nity human rights abuses, truth seeking, truth telling and reconciliation have emerged as the primary objectives of these traditional institu- tions. As noted above, these objectives has been achieved through bringing the perpetra- tors (if present), and their family to the home- stead of their victims in the presence of the com- munity and local traditional leadership to pro- vide labour, usually in the fields of their victim or the victim’s family. In most of the cases cov- ered by the researcher, Heal Zimbabwe was ap- proached by the perpetrators or their families to facilitate the truth telling and reconciliation pro- cess. The local headmen were then officially notified of the process which was to take place in their jurisdictions. In some cases, such as rural Murewa and Mutoko, local headmen elevated the message by sending it to their paramount Chiefs. As stat- ed above, the reconciliation process was pre- ceded by a truth seeking and truth telling ses- sion which occurred as the two families were working in the victim’s fields. It is the responsi- bility of the sahwira to initiate the truth-seeking process by posing probing questions to the perpetrator (if present) or to their family (in their absence). An example of a typical question is: Now that we are all here and no one can beat you in front of the whole community and the Headman, Tobias, tell us exactly what hap- pened the night John disappeared? (Question used at a nhimbe in Buhera District, Manica- land Province in 2012) Once the perpetrator or a family member start- ed providing answers, the victims, their families, the other community members and even the headman begin to probe the circumstances around the incident further. In facing the reality, offenders tell the truth, take full responsibility for their actions and do not blame those who ordered them to commit human rights abuses. Given the non-punitive nature of the pro- cess, perpetrators often seize the opportunity to relieve themselves of the truth in a bid to secure forgiveness, closure and reconciliation. The sahwira as the mediator determines when to end the question and answer session, and gives a summary of the proceedings while plead- ing with the victims, their families and the com- munity to forgive the offender. At the end of the day’s work in the fields, the whole community congregated at the victim’s homestead to conclude the ceremony. In most cases, this was done by partaking of traditional beer brewed specially for the ceremony. At night- fall there would be an event which included danc- ing in celebration of the rebirth of cordial rela- tions. The sunrise on the next morning signified the birth of a new relationship and the official acceptance of the perpetrator’s apology. In rare cases, this was followed by an invitation from the offender’s family to the victim’s family to attend another ceremony at the perpetrator’s homestead. The final stages of the ceremony would involve communication between the ‘liv- ing living’ and the ‘living dead’. A ceremony called nyaradzo (memorial service) would take place to console the victim’s family and to ac- cord them closure. This final ceremony is known as kurova guva, and occurs when the spirit of the deceased is brought back to the realm of the living to perform the duties of an ancestor. It is interesting to note that even after such public confessions were made by offenders, none would be arrested. The police merely en- sured that no violence occurred. Sahwira proved to be instrumental in mediating the payment of reparations (where due) and reconciliation. Oth- er traditional ceremonies and institutions are complementary to nhimbe/ilima and include gata (spiritual autopsy), botso (self-shaming) and chenura (cleansing ceremony). They will be anal- ysed in detail in the following sections. Botso (Self-shaming) Botso is an institution that is used to ap- pease for intra-family wrongdoing, usually when a child abuses a parent. As a transitional justice mechanism, botso works in that it allows the whole community to know the truth as the pro- cess involves the perpetrator wandering around the community telling every person he or she meets the wrongs that they committed. In the process of roaming the villages the perpetrator collects an assortment of grains to be used for brewing beer for his/her cleansing ceremony. This practice is not widespread as cases of in- tra-family violence are usually solved at ‘living ling’ level without escalating the matter to the spiritual or ‘living dead’ level. Interpretation of Botso as a Transitional Justice Mechanism Botso is a system of appeasing an aggrieved, deceased family member wronged or killed by another. If one kills, causes another to be killed 340 EVERISTO BENYERA or otherwise angers a relative, in most cases the mother, and does not seek forgiveness before the aggrieved person dies, the offender must pay reparation by participating in the process of self-shaming (kutandabotso). Using Misener’s (2001) five ‘R’s reveals that this institution is premised as admission of guilt, self-shaming, paying of reparations and reconciliationon real- ity, responsibility, repentance, restitution and reconciliation. The first step as described in the incident above is that there is the dual reality of a disap- peared ex-combatant who served in Zimbabwe’s liberation war, on one hand and that of a young girl inflicted with a series of unexplained misfor- tunes including the failure of the onset of her menstruation despite her age. It was established that the deceased took the responsibility, pos- sessed his daughter, and provide directions to the shallow grave. Repentance was sought by the brother who engineered and caused the deaths. The brother publicly admitted to the of- fense and asked for forgiveness. Inherent in this process of repentance is truth telling which con- stitutes an integral part of transitional justice. The truth was also revealed when the spirit of the deceased led the family to the shallow grave where he had been buried. Reparation was paid and shaming accom- plished when the guilty sibling spent seven nights in the same room where his brother’s re- mains were kept. This served as a reminder to the offending brother of his wrongdoing which he thought would go unpunished. Finally, rec- onciliation was achieved when certain rites and rituals were performed after the seven day pun- ishment. Proof that the ceremonies had been a success and accepted by the deceased was that all the afflictions and illnesses which had trou- bled family members suddenly disappeared. The girl who was possessed by her late father’s spir- it started menstruating. It was reported by Vam- be, who is related to the family, that this oc- curred soon after the rites and rituals had been performed. This was taken by many as a sign that reconciliation, healing and closure had tak- en place (pers, comm.,12 June 2012). As noted earlier, among the Shona people the three processes of reconciliation, healing and closure occur at the three levels of life, that is, the ‘living unborn’, the ‘living living’ and the ‘living dead’. The next section discusses anoth- er form of traditional transitional justice mecha- nisms, nyaradzo, which means memorial service. Nyaradzo (Memorial Service) Nyaradzo is a transitional practice meant to bring closure to the family of the deceased and is usually performed a month after burial. Most of the victims of politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe were not properly mourned, with some having their nyaradzo postponed for se- curity reasons. This was likened to a postponed burial by the Executive Director of Heal Zimba- bwe, Rashid Mahiya, who observed that these memorials acted as a platform to sensitise com- munities to the dangers of committing human rights violations. This invested the mechanism with the capacity of a deterrent, a key aspect of an effective transitional justice mechanism. In this case, during the nyaradzo, religious and traditional leaders were invited to attend. It was during the speeches that formed part of the nyaradzo that issues of politically motivated vio- lence were discussed. The victims’ family repre- sentatives and those supporting the perpetrators were also given a platform to air their views, with perpetrators or their family representatives open- ly asking for forgiveness and warning others not to commit the same crimes. Since, most of the families were poor; Heal Zimbabwe donated tomb- stones which were erected as part of the memori- al service. Nyaradzo culminated with the erection of these tombstones as memorials, to remind the community of the gross violations of human rights and as a mechanism of deterrence. Mahiya was convinced that the program was effective because all the communities Heal Zim- babwe worked with sympathised with the vic- tims’ families, publicly acknowledging the crimes of the perpetrators and sharing the blame for allowing members of the community to commit such atrocities. In the process, community lead- ers and the head of the perpetrator’s family also showed remorse for failing both the victim’s fam- ily and the community at large in their leader- ship because these fatalities were committed under their jurisdiction. Such acts of public ac- knowledgement are not found in idealist transi- tional justice mechanisms such as prosecutions. This, further, strengthens the role of traditional transitional justice mechanisms in reconciling post-conflict communities. EXPLORING ZIMBABWE’S TRADITIONAL TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE 341 In the absence of the rigours of due process of cross-examination, truth telling was usually not difficult to achieve under traditional transi- tional justice mechanisms. This rendered heal- ing and closure possible, bringing the prospects of reconciliation even closer. Mahiya stated that he was happy with the progress his organisa- tion made because the public acknowledgement of wrongdoing made by family heads, communi- ty leaders and traditional authorities put pres- sure on political leaders who had either ordered or presided over the human rights abuses to acknowledge their wrongdoing (pers. comm. 21 September 2013). This is unlikely to happen in prosecutions. Kurovaguva/Magadziro/Umbuyiso The traditional ceremony of kurovaguva/ magadziro/umbuyiso is common among both the Shona and the Ndebele people. It is the cul- mination of all the rituals meant to ensure that the spirit of the deceased rests in peace before being summoned by the ‘living living’ and au- thorised by the ‘living dead’ to return as an an- cestor. The purpose of kurova guva (guva liter- ally means grave) is to bring back the spirit of the dead so that s/he can reside with the family, protecting and blessing it while occasionally punishing it for misbehaviour by, for example, allowing calamities to befall it. In most cases, nyaradzo must be performed beforekurovagu- va and for adults, theceremonies happen approx- imately a year after burial. The modalities, con- sultations, ceremonies and rituals that accom- pany the institution of guva are unfortunately beyond the scope of this discussion. This paper is concerned with a specific is- sue: exploring how the institution of guva was transformed to function as a transitional justice mechanism. The answer is found in the addi- tional roles that the institution fulfilled. Most importantly, it offered the families and communi- ties final closure while reuniting them with the spirit of their dead relative. This completed the trilogy of life forms for Shona and Ndebele be- liefs which are the ‘living unborn’, the ‘living living’ and the ‘living dead’. The absence of one of these three life forms is deemed unjust and considered an abomination, capable of bringing the most unbearable calamities as there is no connection with God. This is believed possible only through the intercession of the ‘living dead’ on behalf of the ‘living living’ and the ‘living unborn’. Employing the two theoretical frameworks of the five pillars of transitional justice and the five ‘R’s of restorative justice to ascertain the efficacy of guva as a transitional justice mecha- nism revealed that it is probably the best bot- tom-up, victim-centred mechanism at work in Zimbabwe. The five pillars of transitional justice are truth telling, reparations, collective memory and memorialisation, trials and institutional re- form (Chitsike 2012: 3), while the five ‘R’s of re- storative justice are reality, responsibility, repen- tance, restitution and reconciliation (Misener 2000). In addition, guva is efficacious as a form of education. As a transitional justice mecha- nism kurova guva fulfils the following functions. Firstly, it serves to officially communicate with the ‘living dead’, especially those recently de- parted to rest in peace. Secondly, it enables the eldest living male offspring of the deceased to inherit his father’s estate, and lastly, it serves as a forum for the collective and public memoriali- sation of the dead. Other ceremonies and rituals that are per- formed before guva such as nyaradzo, kutand- abotso, chenura, and gata are prerequisites of kurovaguva. Gata as a form of spiritual autop- sy that ensures that the cause of death is ascer- tained and that those responsible are notified so that the processes of reparation leading to reconciliation can commence. In cases where a child has killed a parent, especially a mother, the perpetrator has to undergo a self-shaming pro- cess called kutandabotso. This requires dress- ing in rags and roaming the villages, confessing while collecting donations of grain to be used in his/her cleansing ceremony. Reparations are paid by the perpetrator to the victim’s family and the traditional leaders. Reparations are considered due to the traditional leaders because spilling innocent blood is a crime against the land. This crime warrants that the offender pays cattle to the Chief as an admission of guilt and also in reparation to the traditional authorities. The cat- tle are used in part for the traditional cleansing of the land over which the Chief presides. Since these ceremonies are attended by all community members, they present a perfect platform for collective public memorialisation. Chenura (Cleansing Ceremonies) Once the family and community-based ritu- als of nyaradzo and guva have been performed, the healing process in rural areas usually takes on a grander dimension in which the land is 342 EVERISTO BENYERA cleansed of spilt blood, made holy and ready to receive the blessings of rain and bumper har- vests. The essence of cleansing ceremonies as realist transitional justice mechanisms is that human rights abuses defile the land, leading the ancestors to withdraw blessings, chief among them rain and peace. Such cleansing ceremo- nies reconnect the communities with their an- cestors. In these circumstances, realist traditional justice mechanisms are the only key to unlock- ing these blessings which the communities be- lieve they are entitled to. The traditional leaders preside over the cleansing ceremonies. The of- fender provides the animal which is slaughtered during the ceremony, and traditional beer is brewed and consumed as part of the ceremony. The area spirit medium and the chief lead and guide the ceremonies. An example of such a cleansing ceremony was held in Zaka’s Ward 24 under Chief Bota in Masvingo Province on 4 December 2010. All the Headmen who fell under Chief Bota’s jurisdiction were invited and they attended together with their respective subjects. This series of cleansing ceremonies were cele- brated as they had managed to bring perpetra- tors and their victims together. Politicians from both the Zimbabwe African National UnionPa- triot Front (ZANU PF) and the main Movement for Democratic Change (MDC T) were also present. Villagers discussed the issue of politi- cally motivated human rights abuses on Satur- day 5 December and devised mechanisms to avoid a recurrence and to help victims, especial- ly widows and orphans. Chief Bota’s cleansing ceremony implied that his respective Headmen could handle criminal cases committed post-2008 in their own traditional courts, something which was almost impossible before the cleansing cer- emonies were held. Besides handling such cas- es, the Headmen were mandated by the Chief to initiate their own healing and reconciliation ini- tiatives at local level. Another cleansing ceremony was held in the Midlands Province, Gokwe District in Madzivaz- vido at Chief Chireya’s homestead. This was probably the biggest chenura held in line with the 2008 election violence. Addressing more than 700 people who attended, Chief Chireya noted that: ...lives were lost... and blood was spilled, that angered the spirit mediums and that should never be repeated again. We say this because we are Chiefs and have a duty to protect the people... The chenura was attended by most Sub- Chiefs and Headmen who fell under Chief Chireya. These included Chiefs Mashame, Nem- budzia, Goredema, Makore, Gumunyu, Nemang- we and Madzivazvido. These combined Chiefs and Sub-Chiefs have a combined jurisdiction with a population of 358 650 (Zimbabwe Census Report 2012: 42). Gokwe Senator Mutingwende, representing politicians, also attended. The po- lice, army and the civil service were also strong- ly represented signifying the importance of the chenura to the country’s peace building pro- cess. The implication is that cleansing ceremo- nies and related traditional transitional justice mechanisms have potentially reached over 350 000 people in Gokwe District alone. This attests to their wide application. CONCLUSION This paper explored traditional transitional justice mechanisms in Zimbabwe. It demonstrat- ed the existence of peace building initiatives that are victim-centred and bottom-up and, most im- portantly, it proved that transitional justice oc- curs in Zimbabwe without the involvement of the state. The traditional transitional justice mechanisms discussed in this paper utilise the family and the community as the core units around which reconciliation is centred. The ad- vent of mass civilian-on-civilian violence in ad- dition to uniformed force-on-civilian violence has necessitated that traditional transitional justice mechanisms are adapted to the new realities of gross human rights abuses, usually by known perpetrators. In Zimbabwe, a plethora of these mechanisms have been positively utilised to force offenders to face the reality of their wrong- ful actions, to take responsibility, seek repen- tance, pay restitution and reconcile with their victims. Besides, these traditional transitional justice mechanisms have ensured truth telling, compensation and forgiveness, resulting in rec- onciliation. Where reparations have been due, offenders have used the institutions of botso and ngozi to seek forgiveness and achieve rec- onciliation. RECOMMENDATIONS To realise true healing and forgiveness it is important for victims and offenders to go EXPLORING ZIMBABWE’S TRADITIONAL TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE 343 through all the stages of transitional justice un- til they realise closure. Although, the processes require time and the harnessing of stakeholders working together to realise an effective system, it has been proven that they are worth the in- vestment. This paper recommends that this framework be utilised in other rural communities of Zimbabwe where these institutions had be- come dormant to achieve bottom-up, victim cen- tred healing and closure. A second recommen- dation is that these mechanisms should not work as parallels to the existing justice systems but should be used to compliment the justice sys- tem by determining closure in both the legal and traditional African methods of addressing hu- man rights violations and unnatural deaths caused by perpetrators known to the victim. NOTES 1 While the rural/urban dichotomy in seeking transi- tional justice is not solid, it is here used mainly as a geographical locator of where most of these tradi- tional ceremonies, rituals and rites are carried out. 2 Ngozi is a metaphysical phenomenon, cultural prac- tice and a belief system stemming from a particular cosmology in which those who die unnaturally are believed to return in spirit form to force those re- sponsible for their death to compensate and recon- cile with the deceased’s family. 3 Botso is an institution that is used to atone for intra-family wrongdoing, usually when a child abus- es a parent. 4 Chenura is a set of cleansing ceremonies undertak- en to appease the land after the commission of a crime such as murder. The Shona people believe that such crimes defile the land, leading the ances- tors to withdraw blessings, chief among them rain and peace. Only after the land would have been cleansed would peace, rain and other blessings re- turn to the land. 5 Nhimbe/ilima is a traditional communal African practice in which communities come together to pool their resources and labour to offer assistance, usually to the vulnerable members of the communi- ty. The same institution is also used for other pur- poses such as pooling labour during peak harvest time. In terms of livelihoods, it is used to shield orphans and vulnerable children as well other child headed households from hunger by providing them with pooled labour to enable them to coup with farming labour demands. 6 In its simplest form, nyaradzo is a memorial service held in honour of the deceased. 7 Gukurahundi is a Shona word meaning separating chuff from grain. It was the name of a military operation which was aimed at eradicating perceived dissidents in the predominantly Ndebele speaking Provinces of Matebeleland and Midlands. 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