Conclusion

Untitled-17 Conclusion Martha Mutisi Given the increasing search for alternatives and answers to the African problematique, a critical review of the status and role of traditional institutions and their significance in conflict resolution in Africa is both timely and responsive. [...] For example, in the case of Rwanda, although the abunzi fill a huge gap in the justice system by attending to smaller civil and criminal cases at the local level, the author criticises the idea of state-mandated mediation. [...] Admittedly in the case of the abunzi mediators in Rwanda the state, through the Rwandan Constitution, calls for 30% representation of women in public positions and institutions. [...] The case studies of the Afar in Ethiopia, abunzi in Rwanda, the judiyya in Darfur and Sudan, and the Ekika among the Baganda highlight the importance of compensation, restitution, reconciliation and reincorporation of the offender into the wider community following the resolution of the dispute. [...] His research interests focus on mechanisms of indigenous conflict resolution in Ethiopia and the nexus of security, development and conflict in Ethiopia in particular and the Horn of Africa region in general.