THE MERITS AND DEMERITS OF INDIGENOUS CONFLICT RESOLUTIONS MECHANISM: A CASE OF THE BASOGA'S MEETINGS (OKUTYAAMYA)

Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analyst
Dishma-Inc.
P.O. Box 8885,
Kampala-Uganda
Tel. +256392614655/+256752542504
dishma.imhs@gmail.com
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com

Background
Lusoga is spoken by Ugandans in Eastern Uganda; 50 to 100 miles, east of Kampala. With over 3 million Ugandans –who speak Lusoga, it turns out to be one of the major languages in the country –alongside English, Luganda, and Swahili.

Different authors put it second to Buganda in as far as the population size is concerned. Basoga speaking people are surrounded by Lake Victoria to the west, Lake Kyoga to the north, and Mpologoma River to the East (Wikipedia 2011). 1

The conflict resolution system among the Basoga is one of the most interesting ones that only suffered defeat with the arrival of Europeans in 1870s. They structurally eroded Soga culture to unprecedented levels, let a lone the absence of records on how the Basoga resolved conflicts.

For example; the idea of Kingship was alien –meant to ease colonial administration. Instead, Busoga shrived on clan system –with either limited or no role for chiefs –who were only known for mobilizing people to resist anything alien (Mbbe). That won them a label abemputu from the Baganda (stubborn) (Balunywa, 2009). Okutyaamya (facing a family, village or clan meeting) was the approach used to resolve conflict.

Conflict Resolution at Family Level (O'butagemagana Ku Idhaala Elya'maka)
Conflict resolution (okumalawo o'butagemagana) had its first place in the family. It is also where conflict traits can be examined. It was both the epicenter of conflicts and immediate court to resolve it. Among the Basoga, families were extended type –consisting of father, mother and children, step brothers and sisters –followed closely by grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins.

Conflict Resolution at Children Level (O'butagemagana Ku Idhaala Elya'baana)
Young siblings reported to older ones –in case of conflict between them. Older siblings ensured younger ones behaved in a way that was socially and culturally acceptable. Common troubles among younger siblings were; fighting for objects they used to play with and to show individual or group power between children of different families or parents.

In other words, older children deputized their parents in resolving cases at their level. When boys grew older (16+), they built huts around the homestead –usually to provide protection to their vulnerable sisters and parents.

Children and Gender (Abaana Obowala na Abaleenzi) in Conflict Resolution
Gender element mattered a lot in the care and discipline of siblings. Older male siblings were responsible for the welfare of younger male siblings. The same was for older female siblings towards their younger sisters.

Common at that level were conflicts between step children. Conflict at that level easily got blown up to conflict between older step children and later to one between step mothers. At conflict level between step mothers fathers were the only referral point.

Mothers (Ba'maama)
The power of mothers was insignificant in the family. They were in a similar position as children. They used power of words to cool down situations from going out of hand –and advocated a win-win strategy in conflicts involving children. They preserved children secrets not to come to the attention of the much-feared father (household head).

Household Head (Omukulu Wo’luya)
The household head was highly respected –if not feared –by whoever lived in his homestead of about 30 to 60 people. They handled cases that defeated mothers and those between older children and wives.

Household heads were naturally charged with ensuring discipline in the family –usually consistent with the cultural and social norms. They were known for action, not words. When approached for intervention, or when a given person has failed to heed to instructions from older ones, he simply swung into action to fiercely beat up the wrong doer.

The beating lasted until it elicited a call for forgiveness. Forgiveness was always welcome –to make a new beginning in the relationship between the punisher and punished as well as the wronged and the offender. In case the accused made insults that demeaned the father’s position, extreme of household head’s decision would be to withdraw parenthood.

It was horrible for the accused if that happened. In fact, him-self could not wait until such a decision was reached. He would quickly plead for forgiveness. Rarely could he fail to impart desirable behavior in members of his household. However, household heads tended to generate more of fear than respect.

Aunties and Uncles (Ba'seenga ni Ba'kooja)
Aunties and uncles had respectable positions among the Basoga –regardless of their age. However, their social role began when they were reasonably mature. They were known for being impartial during family conflicts. They overruled father’s position if they felt his decisions were too harsh.

They advocated reconciliation and restoration of family relationships. They were true ‘lawyers’ for the children. Besides, they were approachable, so children often sought counseling on their day-to-day developments. They are still excellent today.

Grand Parents (Ba'daada)
These provided refugee to children who fell out with their parents –or for some reason, no longer had parents. They provided the love similar or at times even more than that of parents –enough for the neglected child to feel at peace –until either he or she was restored with parents or old enough to solve his or her own problems.

Grand parents were so much full of love that they saw no blemish on accused grand children –regardless of any existing truth about children’s behavior. For that reason, they were criticized for being more of spoilers of children than constructors of rightful morals in them.

Clans (Ebikha)
Busoga has over 200 clans. 2 They solved cases regarding incest, land conflicts, and distribution or redistribution of family wealth. Clan meetings constituted the clan head as the chairman, mother of the accused, household head (who refers the case to the clan), his brothers, the elderly and all married people (understood to be responsible members of the community or adults).

Commonest decisions taken were: punishing culprit, to fairly redistribute family wealth, to forgive and guarantee community acceptance of repentant person, and excommunication in very extreme cases.

Clan leaders did not have term limits; the position was a reserve of the wealthy. Clans occupying a given sub region were manned by a county chief (Omukulu we isazza) –a local government or political representative.

Abasweezi (Spiritualists)
The Abachweezi influence in East and Central Africa did not leave stones unturned in Busoga –most especially regarding the concept of God. They gave birth to the Abasweezi movement in Busoga.

They were consulted in case of a dilemma in the community –to elicit explanations about the cause undesirable events. They took with them community members to a sacred place –to invoke spirits for guidance –with the help of songs, drums and sporadic dances.

In the course of time, they possessed one of the dancers –who then revealed vital information or explanation to the community. Through them, a community meeting was able to prove guilt or innocence, to invoke the dead person’s spirit to reveal his wishes (or will), and to explain a community dilemma. Some section of the Basoga used the power of the spirits to cause harm to other community members. Critics say songs sang by the Abasweezi were so obscene.

Conclusion
Indigenous conflict resolution mechanism presented above greatly helped to preserve peace among the Basoga community. However, the approach was eroded by Bunyoro expansionism, Buganda-British imperialism and, now, neocolonialism. The ‘modern’ judicial system today makes no reference to the indigenous one.

To revitalize the indigenous approaches, there is bound to be a conflict –which if resolved to Basoga’s favor, their culture will be redeveloped, their religion reborn, and African solidarity built and strengthened.

Research Business Development in Uganda

Jacob Waiswa
Peace and Conflict Center
P.O. Box 7062,
Makerere University
Kampala-Uganda
jwaiswa@arts.mak.ac.ug

Research is most demanding activity everyone can ever face. It calls for both intellectual and physical energies. It calls for an effective plan and subsequently getting committed to it to its very successful end. Time, commitment and patience are other special considerations.

Before its start, a schedule is set specifying time of engagement with research while along the way researcher ensures total commitment to get through it as planned.

And of course, so many attractions show up during the course of the research study or otherwise get frustrated and disappointed along. Being patient and sustaining it becomes the answer as researcher looks more to its end than really enjoy doing it.

Whatever the intentions of the research, it is never just about the data collector. The community among which researcher works is put into perspective by, for example, anticipating appropriate time to meet them, presentation of clear information, being respectful showed not only in speech but the dressing option, and the burden of responding to so many tiring and heavily time consuming questions. Along the way they tire and demand not to continue.

It becomes an abuse and ill-treatment to take them on further than the time they are willing to give. The other aspect that researchers often elude is the question of benefit of the study to the interviewees. Such is often either deliberately omitted during the induction of the prospecting interviewees or not clearly mentioned whilst carrying out interviews.

At more advanced stages is the question of paying for interviewee’s irreplaceable time. That has been criticized much because of the ‘negative’ influence it can have on the nature of responses made.

Research is a business to many firms that yields high incomes and helps to offer part-time employment to new graduates. Those employed to carry out data collection task are equally pressed hard to accept low wages to minimize firm’s cost of operation. Besides they equally breakdown owing to the huge target of work demanded by their employers.

The wages can be so low that they cannot sustain efforts of interviewers throughout the project time or just fairly ok to sustain such efforts but with no savings for them to make, or just good enough to motivate interviewer met every requirement of the study. Fortunately or unfortunately, the implication of the wages verses the cost of living will definitely affect the outcome of the results.

A hindrance, very common in Africa is weather, but rarely put into perspective during the planning phases of research. When heavy rains start, interviewers are not well protected from the heavy rains, while during warm temperatures they are not well facilitated to deal with dehydration.

So, because of such conditions, interviewers tire easily, resort to short-cut and unauthorised ways to generate research information, or postpone the day’s task to some other enabling day to gather information.

Often denied fact is failure to acknowledge that the selected tools of data collection are best understood by its designer rather than the one hired to make use of it. The second-placed user may completely get confused by it or make mistakes. To the very worst, pretesting is characterized by defense of errors detected rather than make corrections to avoid unnecessary ambiguities and questions that do not make sense to the interviewees.

Since disagreements over usage of verbs and interpretation of questions consume a lot of time, a stage is reached when all parties will agree to disagree or compromise to have a question error stand.

The work-load set by research firms seeks to minimize the cost of operation. In most cases such targets are unrealistic dreams –convincingly made real for the hired person to become a donkey to reach them. The huge work-load becomes a critical source of stress –leading to constant aches, fatigue, burn out, and loss of interest just mid-way to the end of the task.

Those prompt interviewers to quit, to adjust the procedure of research, and to go against the instructions as coping means. More investment in the area of research and better remuneration owing to the huge benefits research comes with like efficiency and effective of programming and of public goods and services delivery makes it meaningful.

UGANDAN PEOPLE - A BOOK ON UNDERSTANDING THEIR CULTURE...

THE BOOK

The book “Ugandan Society Observed” is a selection of Kevin’s best newspaper articles over the last 13 years. The 262 page book contains 111 articles, divided into 14 subject chapters (Religion; Sex and Love; Language; Sport; Music; Education; Media; Poverty and Inequality; Health; Tobacco; Gender and Sexual Orientation; Bazungu and Aid; The Environment; Pot Pourri). Each chapter contains a cartoon by the Monitor’s Moses Balagadde, together with a striking front cover cartoon.



THE AUTHOR

Kevin O’Connor was born in London in 1952. He obtained an MA in Economics from Cambridge University and then spent two and a half years as a volunteer (VSO) teacher in a village in Northern Nigeria . This was followed by a 20-year career with the British Council, with his last posting as its Deputy Director in Uganda . Kevin and his wife Sue, a professional photographer, returned independently to Uganda in 1997 and Kevin began his weekly Roving Eye column, initially in the Sunday Vision and then in the Sunday Monitor. The column has become an acclaimed part of the Ugandan media. Kevin and Sue are also accomplished volunteer athletics coaches.



REVIEWS

Reviews include:



“Forget the travel guide books about Uganda . If If you want insight into the country's media, music, development assistance, foreigners (whites) and sex-life, this collection of articles from the column "Roving Eye" is more entertaining and just as interesting.” Bistandsaktuelt (Norwegian monthly newspaper on Aid and Development)



“Visitors looking for a general read about contemporary Uganda to complement the travel info in the Bradt Guide are pointed to Ugandan Society Observed, a collection of essays written by Kevin O’Connor AKA “The Roving Eye”, the outspoken columnist for The Sunday Vision and more recently The Sunday Monitor.” Philip Briggs The Bradt Travel Guide – Uganda (Internet Update)



"Being Ugandan is more than skin deep. After more than a decade of living in Uganda , no matter how blond one's hair is and how pale their skin is, one is bound to take on all the characteristics of a Ugandan through and through. Kevin has produced a book that anyone coming to Uganda for the first time, and wants to bring themselves up to speed, should buy as a matter of importance." Sunday Monitor, Uganda



"Agree or disagree with him, this book is guaranteed to give you plenty of good reflection as well as great entertainment." Fr. Carlos Rodriguez, Leadership Magazine



“Ugandan Society Observed is a classic read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Congratulations to Kevin.” Rachel Magoola (Ugandan Pop Star)



PURCHASE OPTIONS

Bookshops in Uganda e.g. Aristoc (Ug Sh 15,000).



Websites for purchase include:



Amazon www.amazon.com; Michigan State University www.msupress.msu.edu; Barnes and Noble www.bn.com; the African Books Collective www.africanbookscollective.com. The publisher's website www.fountainpublishers.co.ug (prices vary between websites)



And to hire Research Assistants and Field Officers Contact dishma.imhs@gmail.com or Call +256774336277


To attend Vipassana Meditation Technique in Uganda, book your place via Purna Wasti

And to donate to Dishma Community Advancement Programs let us know through dishma.imhs@gmail.com or call +256752542504