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- Description:
- In this article, Macharia Munene discusses the roles of religion and culture in conflict creation and resolution in both pre and post-colonial Kenya. Noting the cultural heterogeneity of Kenya and the often not-so-holy intentions of the church, he highlights the major events in Kenyan History in which the church and Kenyan cultural institutions and practices, especially oathing, have played major roles in conflict enhancement and reduction. The article focuses on three major periods of Kenyan History: The colonial era, the Kenyatta era, and the Moi era. In each era, he captures and comments on the key events involving conflict and the interventions made by religious authorities as well as persons abusing cultural practices in trying to achieve their selfish motives.
- Date Issued:
- 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- Intolerance in the contemporary African societies has been best manifested in bitter wars, loss of lives and property, rampant violation of human rights and in some cases total lack of law and order creating chaos in the continent. The complexities of such conflicts vary from one country to another making it impossible for the organizations concerned to find one single mechanism for conflict resolution. A lot more is to be done by the churches and the world bodies to explore common factors in social conflicts; to sensitize the participants in matters of religious tolerance, justice and peace; to highlight support and encourage the role of churches and other groups in promoting dialogue among the warring protagonists. This article portrays the situation in the Sudan and provides indications as to how the problems should be addressed in an enlightened manner. The article focuses on the issues that caused the Sudanese conflict plus the wars and their impact on the Sudanese people as their neighbours. It looks at the peace initiatives and makes pertinent suggestions and recommendations.
- Date Issued:
- 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- Conflicts have always been part of human society and mechanisms to resolve them have often tended to reflect the level of political organisation in a particular society. The traditional African society is rife with varied approaches to conflict management. Uganda, for example, is a heterogeneous society which prior to colonial rule was organised around chiefdoms among some tribes and clan elders among others. In the Kingdom areas such as Buganda, Ankore, Bunyoro, Toro and to some extent in Busoga the king ruled through institutions such as the hierarchy of chiefs and laws. In segmentary societies such as Kigezi, Bugisu, Bamba, Bakonjo and the Iteso, the political and social organisation was clan based, regulated by customs and values. In pre-colonial Uganda each society had set conventions, customs and traditions which regulated social behaviour, harmony and stability. These unwritten laws provided a set of acceptable behaviour and controlled deviants in society. Despite the differences in political organisation, it is generally agreed that each of these societies had elaborate systems of governance, rule of law, justice and administrative organs. Each member of society was supposed to know his rights and sanctions were imposed on those individuals who did not comply with the norms. This article will address the issue of conflict, how it was dealt with in traditional African culture, the methods of communication both in traditional and modern Uganda and the question of rights and responsibilities in promoting cross-cultural amity.
- Date Issued:
- 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review
- Description:
- The current state of most African countries cannot be dissociated from the Berlin Treaty of 1885, which divided the continent into zones of European influence. Before this year, most communities in this continent ran their own affairs in relative independence, within a clearly understood ethnic region. The most significant characteristics of an ethnic community were it's language and culture. Although the new foreign masters did not always clearly perceive or appreciate these social elements, the diversity and the wealth of these entities was enormous in the African continent. The greatest injustice the colonial masters committed was, undoubtedly, the imposition of their language and culture on the colonized minority groups. This article discusses the consequences of this phenomenon in post-colonial Africa and evaluates the alternative possibilities in relation to conflict resolution in Africa.
- Date Issued:
- 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Africa Media Review