BY BETELHEM BEDLU
“Disputes are one of the major factors negatively affecting the development process of any nation. They divert resources that could otherwise be used productively; hence, there appears to be general agreement on their undesirability” (Alexander 2005).
On a paper entitled ‘Dispute resolution mechanisms among the Afar People of Ethiopia and their contribution to the Development Process’ done by Kinfe Abraha (Ph.D), it was revealed that disputes in the African continent are becoming more of business and way of life to many western organizations. Until now, Africans have tried to resolve disputes using western modalities; but practical evidence has already shown that such modalities often aggravate the disputes in Africa and do not resolve them.
The author also noted that dispute-resolution practices are as old as humans. Thus, he contemplated that much can be learned from the dispute-resolution practices of the first Ethiopian people, as Ethiopia is a site of human origin.
Dispute resolution strategies and peace-building mechanisms remain problematic for most societies in the world, including Africa. The need to develop and sustain a culture of peace has become more important than ever given the scale of destruction and the resilience of disputes, so said the author.
Ethiopians, as a society who has long kept a longstanding cultural conflict resolution system, have been using various traditional systems to resolve disputes that may arise between or among societies. Almost all ethnic groups have developed their own conflict resolution mechanisms in their surroundings.
Among many, the well-recognized traditional conflict resolution system ‘Shimgelena’ is the one. By understanding its role, the people have been using this customary conflict resolution method which has played an undeniable role in resolving conflict over the years.
With the aim of expanding the accessibility of judicial services at all levels for the community, the Oromia Supreme Court Bureau recently has announced its plan to incorporate the traditional justice system in to the formal justice system.
The Bureau has finalized a research done on the implementation of the plan by working in collaboration with relevant stakeholders such as Oromia Justice Sector Professionals Training and Legal Research Institute.
Incorporating the tradition system into justice institution has multifaceted benefits as it would cut the cost that the customers are expected to pay and would also be labor-saving for customers, according to Gonfa Atoma, Communication Director of Oromia Supreme Court.
Moreover, the plan plays a significant role in lessening the burden of justice institutions as the number of cases brought to the system is ever increasing year after year, as to him.
The Oromo people have abundant traditional values that play major role in resolving conflicts which may arise in the society, therefore, making use of the customary conflict resolution method is critical to bring about peaceful co-existence in the society, he noted.
“By following an appropriate implementation of the plan, there is a great chance of increasing the tendency of people to return to the indigenous culture. Thus, the trend would help maintain the time-tested communal value. In so doing, conflicts incited individually or in groups will be highly abridged,” as to him.
Once the research is finalized, the State will prepare a draft policy on how the method is putting into practice.
According to him, the plan will not contravene with both federal and State constitutions; rather it is compatible with both exemplifying that the 216/11 legal policy enacted by Caffe Oromia is of paramount importance in encouraging and further bolstering the role of religious and traditional justice.
Though the best way to prevent conflicts is to avoid them before they occur, the aforementioned paper recommends that both customary and modern government systems will have their own role in either aggravating or resolving disputes between ethnic groups.
Therefore, it is recommended that the best practices of the two leadership styles be harmonized so that there will be no gap between them. This demands an attitudinal change in the leadership of both sides, so that they keep an open mind and learn from each other.
The Ethiopian herald December 13/2020
