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Beyond Western Peacebuilding Frameworks: Assessing Ubuntu’s Effectiveness in African Conflict Resolution

By
Castor Mfugale
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A Gacaca trial in Rwanda, photo by Scott Chacon via Wikipedia. Gacaca courts combined accountability with local participation.

In November 2022, the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) formalized the Pretoria Peace Agreement, effectively concluding a protracted and devastating two-year civil war—an infrequent yet significant instance of diplomatic resolution within the African context. This case exemplifies a recurrent pattern across post-conflict African societies, wherein formal peace accords are enacted, state institutions reconstructed, and judicial mechanisms established; nonetheless, enduring legacies of mistrust, societal fragmentation, and intergroup resentment frequently outlast the cessation of hostilities.

Why is peace sometimes complete on paper, but fragile in everyday life?

One reason this issue persists lies in the type of peace frameworks that are often applied. Many peacebuilding models used in Africa are rooted in Western traditions that emphasize individual rights, legal procedures, and institutional reforms. These approaches have value, but they often struggle to address the deeper moral and relational damage caused by conflict. In societies where identity, responsibility, and dignity are deeply communal, peace cannot be sustained by rules and courts alone. This is where Ubuntu, an African ethical tradition centered on shared humanity and interdependence, offers a compelling alternative.

When peace becomes procedural

Western-inspired peacebuilding frameworks tend to view peace as a technical problem: rebuilding institutions, enforcing laws, and ensuring accountability. Justice is often understood in legal terms—who violated which rule, and what punishment should follow.

For many African communities, however, violence is not experienced only as a legal violation. It is a rupture in relationships—between neighbors, families, clans, and generations. When conflict tears apart the moral fabric of a community, restoring order without restoring relationships can leave peace shallow and unstable. This helps explain why in places such as Rwanda, South Sudan, and Liberia, elections and peace accords built institutions, but unresolved grievances and mistrust endured, showing that peace structures without repaired moral bonds remain fragile.

Ubuntu: peace as a shared moral achievement

Ubuntu is often summarized by the phrase “I am because we are.” At its core, it holds that a person becomes fully human through relationships with others. Dignity is not only an individual attribute; it is something affirmed and sustained by the community. From this perspective, wrongdoing harms not just a victim and a perpetrator, but the entire social body. Justice, therefore, is not only about punishment. It is about restoring relationships, rebuilding trust, and reintegrating those who have caused harm back into the moral community—without denying accountability.

Peace, in an Ubuntu framework, is not merely the absence of violence. It is the presence of restored relationships. 

What does Ubuntu look like in practice?

Ubuntu is not an abstract philosophy. Its principles have shaped real peacebuilding processes across Africa. In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established in 1995 and active mainly from 1996 to 1998, prioritized truth-telling and public acknowledgment of harm over widespread retributive punishment. Victims were given a voice, perpetrators were required to confront the human impact of their actions, and society was invited to rebuild itself through moral recognition rather than collective denial. The process was imperfect, but it helped prevent a cycle of revenge and created space for coexistence after apartheid.

In northern Uganda, communities recovering from decades of conflict have relied on traditional reconciliation rituals such as Mato Oput, which emphasize confession, symbolic restitution, and communal healing. Justice here is not about isolating the offender, but about repairing the broken social bond so that community life can continue.

From 1999 through the early 2000s, Rwanda’s community-based Gacaca courts combined accountability with local participation in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, reflecting an attempt to rebuild social trust at the grassroots level, where neighbors had to learn to live together again after unimaginable violence

What unites these examples is a shared understanding: Peace cannot be imposed from above. It must be rebuilt from within communities, ordinary people at the center of peace. One of Ubuntu’s greatest strengths is that it places ordinary people—not just political elites or international experts—at the center of peacebuilding. Elders, women’s groups, youth, and local mediators are recognized as moral agents with legitimate authority. Ubuntu-informed peacebuilding enables more effective peace processes in Africa by grounding peacemaking in human dignity, relational context, and non-polarizing narratives that reorient people away from conflict escalation toward reconciliation and social repair. 

Challenges and limits

Ubuntu is not a magic solution. Romanticizing tradition can obscure power inequalities, silence marginalized voices, or excuse abuses. Some customary practices may conflict with universal human rights standards, particularly regarding gender or minority protections. There is also the challenge of scale. Relational, community-based approaches can be difficult to integrate into modern state institutions built around bureaucracy and legal uniformity. These tensions are real—but they are not reasons to dismiss Ubuntu. Instead, they point to the need for hybrid peace frameworks that combine relational ethics with formal institutions. Courts, laws, and rights remain essential, but they become more effective when embedded within moral practices of dialogue, recognition, and reconciliation. 

Rethinking what success looks like

Ubuntu invites us to rethink how we measure peace. Instead of focusing only on elections held or laws passed, it asks deeper questions: Are relationships being repaired? Is trust being rebuilt? Do people feel recognized as members of a shared moral community? In many African contexts, these questions matter as much as constitutional reforms or legal verdicts.

Peace as a lived practice

Peace is not a destination reached once institutions are in place. It is an ongoing ethical practice, sustained through everyday acts of recognition, responsibility, and care.

By grounding peace in shared humanity rather than abstract procedures alone, Ubuntu offers a powerful lens for building peace that lasts. It does not reject global norms, but reinterprets them through relational values that resonate with lived experience.

Keywords: Africa, African, Ubuntu, conflict, conflict resolution, peace, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda, peacebuilding, Western, framework

Nigerian Elders Begin High-Level Christian–Muslim Reconciliation Talks

By
Mohammed Ibrahim
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Christians leaders, Elders and JNI officials in group photograph. Photo by Mohammed Ibrahim.

A newly inaugurated elders’ platform has launched a strategic interfaith reconciliation initiative, declaring that Muslims and Christians in northern Nigeria must reclaim their shared history of peaceful coexistence and jointly reject narratives of permanent division.

The move comes after the United States designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) on October 31, 2025 over religious freedom issues, a development many stakeholders in the region believe reinforces damaging global perceptions about religious persecution and sectarian hostility in the country. 

Leaders of the new reconciliation platform say their outreach is intended not only to foster genuine healing at home, but also to demonstrate that Nigerians are capable of resolving their differences without external arbitration.

A delegation in December 2025, led by an Elder Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, Professor Yusuf Usman, former executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) in Kaduna North West region, was part of what participants described as a deliberate and symbolic first step toward rebuilding trust.

Photo by Mohammed Ibrahim.

“Peacebuilding Will Be Made by Nigerians”

Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed explained that the group was formed after deep reflection about the state of the nation and the cost of religious division.

“This is a visit that was designed consciously. We want the world to know,” he said. “We express our solidarity with our Christian community. We bring you messages of peace and faith that God will bless our intention.”

Elder Dr Hakeem and Reverend Joseph John Hayab at JNI Hqt, photo by Mohammed Ibrahim.

He challenged interpretations of faith that justify hostility, adding that the group had come to visit because Nigerians had paid “too much a price” for those who identified Muslims and Christians as enemies. Acknowledging past grievances, he stressed accountability, and for both groups to understand how they had wronged and offended each other. 

He identified justice as central to lasting peace. “It is possible to have justice in this country, because justice is the foundation of our faith. Justice is the foundation of peace,” he said

Responding indirectly to international scrutiny following the CPC designation, Dr. Ahmed maintained that reconciliation must be locally driven. “We have friends outside this country. They have a right to tell us what they did. But peacebuilding in Nigeria will be made by Nigerians. We are the ones who live here.”

He added, “We can fight until the end of the world, Muslims will never finish Christians, and Christians will never finish Muslims. But we can live in peace”.

“We Cannot Fight for God”

Receiving the delegation at the Northern CAN office, the 19 Northern States Chairman of CAN, Reverend Joseph John Hayab, who also serves as the vice chairman of the reconciliation group, spoke candidly about the roots of mistrust and the urgent need to correct distorted narratives.

“Unfortunately, people tend to magnify the few bad policies of a minority and downplay the many good policies of the majority,” Hayab said, firmly rejecting the notion that believers must defend God through violence.

JNI secretary general interacting with a Christian bishop during the visit.

Reverend Hayab added, “When I start fighting for God, it is as if I am projecting God in a bad light. Instead of fighting, we should use our energy to give our faith a good name and to give our religion a good name.”

He emphasized that ordinary Nigerians across faiths share daily life peacefully. He stressed that common Christians and Muslims had no business fighting each other whether in fields or markets, describing recent religious hostility in the country as a product of “selfishness, ignorance, and the manipulation of some enemies.”

Describing the visit as significant, Hayab highlighted the universal message of love, saying on behalf of Christians in northern Nigeria, he pledged commitment to the reconciliation process. 

“We accept this call for peace and reconciliation, and we will reciprocate it. We will tell the world that although there has been fighting and misunderstanding in northern Nigeria, a new voice is rising to say, ‘Enough is enough,’ and we will resolve it.”

He stressed that the initiative is inclusive and not adversarial, noting that it includes the Northern Elders’ forum, JNI, the Christian Association, and many others, coming together to reconcile.

Hayab acknowledged that genuine reconciliation requires humility. “Because true reconciliation requires the acknowledgement of wrongdoing, we must admit that, yes, we went wrong,” he said.

Photo by Mohammed Ibrahim.

Recalling past peace efforts, he noted that after crises in 2000 and 2002 between Muslims and Christians in Kaduna state over religious tensions, deliberate reconciliation steps led to nearly a decade of stability.

“We Have a Legacy”

At the headquarters of JNI, Professor Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, Secretary-General of the organization under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar described the engagement as a restoration of historical norms rather than a new experiment.

“I think we have this legacy,” he said. “It was a kind of digression of the already established protocol of brotherhood, love, care, understanding and support between the people of the North.”

He pointed to earlier generations of leaders who treated interfaith issues as collective regional concerns, saying this was the only way to restore peace. 

Aliyu also warned against superficial solutions. “We should be far away from sugar-coated speeches. Yes, we should be truthful. Because one day, even before we stand before our Lord for judgment, posterity will curse us.”

Sharing his personal experience, he said, “I attended Mission School in Jos, Plateau State North Central Nigeria over 40 years ago, and this has not in any way taken away my religion. So you can see we can make it.”

Mediation Centre Calls for Sustained, Continuous Efforts to Rebuild Trust 

Samson Auta of the Interfaith Mediation Centre emphasized that such engagement offers a strong counter-narrative to claims that Nigeria is irreparably divided along religious lines.

Describing the visit as timely, he said it goes beyond addressing misinformation by actively constructing a new reality where religious tolerance is treated as a strategic necessity for regional development and national unity. 

He called for sustained, continuous efforts to rebuild trust and ensure peace initiatives extend beyond politics for the common good.

Keywords: Nigeria, Muslim, Christian, interfaith, Islam, Christianity, peace, conflict, conflict resolution, northern Nigeria, CPC, Nigerian

Small Voices, Global Echoes: Turning a Former IDP Camp in Uganda into an Inclusive Digital Sanctuary

By
Senior Mercy Florence
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Members of the Kweyo Poetry Peace Club in the classroom soon to be transformed into a center for digital excellence. Photo by PJF

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war, led by Joseph Kony, devastated Northern Uganda for over two decades, peaking between the 1990s and early 2017. For civilians, the war was defined by extreme insecurity; Over 2 million people were forced to abandon their ancestral lands and lived in squalid Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps, such as the one formerly located at Kweyo Primary School in the city of Gulu. These camps were often overcrowded and lacked basic services, while children faced the constant threat of abduction by rebels to become child soldiers or forced wives. Even after the guns fell silent in 2017, the region has been left to grapple with deep-seated trauma, a fractured social fabric, land disputes, and a significant digital divide that hinders recovery for the next generation.

In the heart of Northern Uganda, a new revolution is taking place. It is not fought with weapons, but with poetry verses and digital inclusion. At Kweyo Primary School, the scars of the past are being overwritten by the Young Peace Voices Hub.

Pupils of kweeyo Primary school cutting the ribbon during the launch. Photo by PJF.

The Peace Journalism Foundation (PJF) is campaigning to create the Kweyo Inclusive Digital Hub. This facility is set to become a sanctuary designed to integrate digital literacy with peacebuilding poetry, specifically targeting children with disabilities (CWD) and youth activists.

Mending Broken Homes Through Inclusive Voices

The conflict didn’t end when the guns fell silent; It moved into homes, leading to land wrangles and domestic violence. For children living with disabilities and early marriages in this post-war landscape, the burden is doubled, as they face both the trauma of the past and social exclusion.

As Sarah Bradfield, PJF’s co-founder, notes, “Peace begins in the heart. In creativity, we transcend biases. By bringing children of all abilities together to write, we bypass the long-held biases we carry from our experiences.”

Visionaries of peace, PFJ cofounders Gloria Laker Adiiki Aciro and Sarah Bradfield at the official launch of the Kweyo Poetry Peace club. Photo by PJF.

Breaking the Silence: The Kweyo Inclusive Digital Hub

Kweyo Primary School serves over 700 pupils with few teachers. The PJF’s goal is to acquire 15 desktop computers and high-speed internet to transform small voices into global echoes.

For the school’s Poetry Peace Club, especially those with physical or sensory disabilities, these tools will transform digital storytelling. They will allow a child who may struggle to walk or speak to digitize their peace poetry verses and share them via the Global Peace Poetry Exchange (GPPE).

Voice from Triangle Club members:

The Triangle Club (or Poetry Triangle) is the broader, global vision of the project that connects different regions—specifically Gulu (Northern Uganda), Western Uganda, and South Africa—to create a “triangle” of shared peace-building and activism.

Sixteen-year-old poet and peace architect Isabella Atuhare captures the vision of the next generation of diplomats: 

“To live in peace is to choose the path of love, a heart of kindness rising far above. Where forgiveness mends what conflict once tore, we build a world where hate exists no more.”

Members of the Kweyo Poetry Peace Club in the classroom soon to be transformed into a center for digital excellence. Photo by PJF

Ms. Esther Adong, a member of the school management committee and also an old student of Kweyo Primary, said, “Imagine a young girl at Kweyo, typing with one hand, sending a poem titled ‘The Sun After the Rain’ to a student in Cape Town. Her screen becomes a window, and for the first time, her disability is not a wall, but a bridge.”

As the movement grows, young girls in Western Uganda are also joining the chorus against early marriage. One 15-year-old activist, Kayesu, shares her resolve:

“Books, not brides, shall fill my eager hands, I choose the classroom over wedding bands. My future shines, a story yet to be told.”

From Gulu and Western Uganda’s fight against early marriage to South Africa’s struggle against inequality, the Poetry Triangle is forming.

Resilience Through Adaptive Tech

Though the PJF has big ambitions for the digital peace hub, it faces the challenge of securing funding for technology that will allow its leaders to carry out this work.      

The drive for inclusion starts at the top. The campaign includes a specific call for adaptive technology for the Director of PJF, Gloria Laker Adiiki Aciro. She is an award-winning peace advocate now living with a significant visual disability. She has voluntarily mentored more than 800 journalists, but currently relies on her children to read her notes. The PJF is working to secure a high-performance tablet with voice-to-text features that will allow Gloria to continue her work.

PJF director Gloria Laker Adiiki Aciro and Kweyo headteacher Charles Otto; Both leaders share the journey of Gloria overcoming visual challenges while building peace. Photo by PJF.

Beyond the lack of funding, the complex double burden of trauma and exclusion threatens the recovery of northern Uganda’s youth. For children with physical and sensory disabilities, the struggles with land disputes, domestic violence, and the shadow of early marriage are amplified by deep-seated social biases and a lack of adaptive technology, turning what should be a journey of healing into one of isolation.

The Poetry Triangle: A Global Vision

For the PJF’s launch of the poetry project, the school has already provided a spacious classroom for the hub once the computers are purchased. The school is located in a high-strength internet zone, powered by the national grid, and protected 24/7 by professional guards and the vigilant youth of the Abwoch Peace Activists (APA).

Mr. Jela Labela, chairman of the School Management Committee, believes technology is the final bridge: “We are echoing the request for computers to link our poetry and children with disabilities to e-learning and the globe. With these tools, our children, regardless of their physical ability, can share their journey of recovery with the world,” he said.

Once it manages to equip these children with digital tools, PJF aims to ensure that the future of peacebuilding is inclusive, digital, and defined by co-existence, not conflict.

Keywords: Uganda, LRA, Lord’s Resistance Army, war, poetry, peace, tech, digital, hub, internally displaced persons, IDP, conflict, conflict resolution, disabilities, disability, disabled, youth

This Week in Peace #117: February 27

By
Tara Abhasakun
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Karachi, Pakistan. Photo by Zain Ali.

This week, violence resumes in eastern DRC despite ceasefire. Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments agree on joint peace strategy. UN details funding gaps for aid in South Sudan.

Violence Resumes in Eastern DRC Despite Ceasefire

Despite a ceasefire that began on February 18, violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has resumed, africanews reported on February 23. Both the Congolese government and M23 rebels accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

Kifara Kapenda Kyk’y, mayor of the city of Uvira, said the government is “very respectful, since it is the one that really needs peace, while the rebels do not need peace…”

However, the M23 rejected the allegations, blaming the government for the hostilities. The M23 accused the government of strikes and ground offensives targeting their positions and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, civilians continue to bear the brunt of the fighting, with more people being displaced. As of September 2025, 8.2 million people were displaced in DRC, projected to reach 9 million by end-2026, according to the UN.

Pakistan’s Federal and Provincial Governments Agree on Joint Peace Strategy

In a meeting on February 25, Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments agreed on a joint peace strategy. The country has recently experienced an increase in terror attacks, particularly in in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Balochistan.

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry said the top priority was “Protection of citizens’ lives and property…” He said the meeting also addressed the threat level following strikes by Pakistan in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Chaudhry asserted that a prerequisite for peace in Pakistan was an end to the use of Afghan soil for terrorism in Pakistan. He advised Afghanistan to implement the Doha agreement, which bars the use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities. Chaudhry added that federal and provincial governments would take all possible steps to root out terrorism.

UN Details Funding Gaps for Aid in South Sudan

The UN is continuing to speak out about the dire situation involving funding gaps for humanitarian aid in South Sudan amidst the country’s conflict. The UN’s International Migration Organization (IOM) said on February 25 that it requires  requires just over US$131 million for operations in South Sudan this year, but faces a US$29 million funding gap.

The northern town of Renk is particularly feeling the strain of this funding gap. The IOM said, “Emergency assistance, health screening, protection support, and onward transportation remain critical to stabilizing new arrivals and easing the burden on host communities already facing limited resources.”

The IOM is supporting the authorities by piloting government-led solutions under the UN Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement.  

On February 10, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said cost-cutting measures have already reduced protection patrols by up to 40 percent in some areas, and as much as 70 percent where bases have closed. In Jonglei state, violence between Government forces and opposition elements has displaced more than 280,000 people, according to government sources.

After the country experienced a civil war in 2013 which killed over 400,000 people, South Sudan’s fragile peace has been deteriorating since 2025, despite a peace agreement signed in 2018.

Keywords: DRC, Congo, Pakistan, South Sudan, peace, conflict, conflict resolution, ceasefire

From Conflict to Collaboration: How Local Conventions Are Transforming Natural Resource Management and Supporting Peace in Central Mali

By
Baba Ba
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0
Photo provided by author.

Preventing and resolving conflicts over land and natural resources has become one of the major global challenges for peace, stability, and security in the Sahel, where pressure on resources has been intensifying for several decades under the combined effects of demographic growth, climate variability, and insecurity (Chebli, 2022; Tangara, 2024). Although natural resources are rarely the direct cause of violent conflict, competition over use often is an aggravating factor, exacerbating preexisting tensions linked to socio-economic inequalities, political marginalisation, and ecosystem degradation (Djohy and Crane, 2024).

Since the early 2000s, tensions have been particularly pronounced in areas where people’s livelihoods depend heavily on natural resources and where local institutions lack the capacity to manage equitably competing claims pertaining to land, grazing areas, water points, and fishing zones (Bouju, 2020).

In the Inner Niger Delta of central Mali, relationships between farmers, herders, and fishers are shaped by a complex and evolving environment. This vast wetland covering nearly 35,000 square kilometers, essential to the livelihoods of millions of people, is now under significant pressure due to climate variability, natural resource degradation, population growth, persistent insecurity, and the weakening of local institutions. These dynamics have profoundly altered socio-ecological balances and intensified tensions over access to land, water, and pastures.

Photo provided by author.

In this context, conflicts between farmers and herders are not driven solely by resource scarcity. They are also the result of social inequalities, asymmetric power relations, and governance systems that are insufficiently adapted to local realities. In response, endogenous regulatory mechanisms such as local natural resource management conventions have gradually emerged to organize access to resources and promote more peaceful relations among users.

When Local Governance Becomes a Lever for Peace

This study published in February 2026, conducted in three communes of the Mopti Region (Sio, Fakala, and Femaye), is based on a qualitative approach combining focus group discussions and interviews with key stakeholders: herders, farmers, fishers, women, youth, local authorities, and technical service providers.

The findings show that these conventions, developed through participatory and inclusive processes, provide a platform for dialogue among user groups that are often in conflict. Anchored in Mali’s decentralization legal framework, they enable the collective negotiation of rules governing access to and use of natural resources: clarifying agricultural field boundaries, demarcating transhumance corridors, organizing livestock passage periods, defining rights over flooded pastures (bourgoutières), and coordinating the management of fishing zones.

This co-production of rules strengthens their social legitimacy. As several participants emphasized, where mistrust and recurring tensions over natural resources once prevailed, local conventions have created spaces for mediation and dialogue that now prioritize discussion before conflict escalation.

Hybrid Institutions for Fragile Territories

Local conventions function as “hybrid” governance instruments, combining customary norms with formal mechanisms led by municipalities. They rely in particular on communal monitoring committees composed of community representatives, elected officials, and technical agents. These bodies play a central role in conflict prevention, user awareness, and adapting rules to changing conditions.

One key finding of the research is the growing integration of women and youth into these structures. Long marginalized from decision-making processes, they are increasingly becoming actors of mediation and social cohesion, contributing to more inclusive governance.

Photo provided by author.

Beyond regulating resource use, local conventions also promote ecosystem restoration particularly through the regeneration of bourgou, a forage grass essential for livestock feeding. Its restoration improves fodder availability, reduces livestock encroachment into crop fields, and supports food security. In doing so, local conventions help strengthen both ecological resilience and human security.

Lessons for Peacebuilding in the Sahel

The experience of the Inner Niger Delta demonstrates that peace cannot be built through security responses alone. It also depends on recognizing interdependencies among communities, valuing local knowledge, and establishing negotiated, co-designed rules adapted to ecological cycles and social realities.

Local conventions illustrate the potential of endogenous governance mechanisms to transform structural tensions into opportunities for cooperation. They show how sustainable natural resource management can become a powerful driver of dialogue, trust, and stability in contexts marked by institutional fragility and ongoing insecurity. 

However, for these dynamics to endure, sustained political commitment is essential, along with better coordination between local and national levels. Strengthening community ownership, building local government capacities, and integrating these approaches into public policies are key conditions for making local conventions genuine pillars of social peace.

In central Mali, the story unfolding is one of a gradual transition from conflict to collaboration a fragile yet hopeful trajectory for other Sahelian territories facing similar challenges.

Keywords: Mali, natural resource management, central Mali, Inner Niger Delta, local conventions, climate change, peace, conflict, conflict resolution, Africa

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