‘Throwing a Baby with Bathwater,’ Restoration of the Tanzanian Indigenous Justice System: The Case of Sukuma, Kinga and Iraqwi Ethnic Groups

Abstract

The indigenous justice systems were modes of resolving conflicts in Tanzanian communities for millenia before the introduction of the common law system as it was applied in England. The introduced mode, despite its success, is encumbered with a number of challenges. Apart from the challenges, the restoration of one’s customs and traditions is what makes one a human. The conventional justice system being ‘water’ to clean off dirt, the ‘baby’ is celebrated for what it has so far achieved; thus, the washed baby should not have been thrown into the water because in Africa, and Tanzania in particular, no one denies how valuable a baby is to parent and the community at large. Despite Tanzania’s efforts in capturing the bits of indigenous justice systems, the laws in place to a great extent roll on the bits of the conventional justice system. Protecting and preserving one’s customs has caught the interest of the international and regional community. That should awaken Tanzanians to look for the baby (indigenous justice systems) and appreciate its beauty. Ratification of the convention on tribal and indigenous people is optional; its negation devalues one’s customs and traditions. This paper comes with a reformatory agenda. The pumpkin in the homestead cannot be uprooted i.e. indigenous traditions must be preserved.