DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2016.v04i09.020

Pages: 1116-1140

The research study sought to determine the effectiveness of the traditional peace -building approaches a case study of Murewa District. In this study 30 villagers, 2 headmen and 1 chief were used as the research subjects of Murewa District. The qualitative research design was used with the interview and focus group discussion as research instruments. Data was analyzed in both tabular and graph form. The major sources of conflict were found to be land, boundary disputes, political intolerance, marital and family disputes, livestock related disputes and theft. The traditional peace-building approaches were used in a complementary role. Each approach was appropriate for specific cases- therefore their use assumed an eclectic approach. The unhu/ubuntu approach has a strong influence over all the approaches as the other approaches appealed to unhu/ubuntu aspect of ‘humanness’. Traditional approaches despite being culturally appropriate had the criticism of being at variance in some cases with some of the rights of some marginalised groups like women and children among others. This study recommends that, peace studies be included in the school curriculum to inculcate a culture of peace in communities as well as exploration of other approaches from other cultures and religions with a view to find out what is workable in current times. Finally, it is recommended that the traditional peace building approaches and their practices be aligned with modern practices so as not to violet the rights of the marginalised groups like women and children.