When I was growing up our elders would say time and time again: The invited one gets a share.
This is because our ancestors believed that peace is paramount in the society but justice must reign supreme before peace can sprout and flourish in that society.
In this reflection I shall focus on creating peace in the present community as in our families, local communities, national and international communities.
When someone broke one of their laws and regulations, like committing murder, theft or injury of another person, the elders would call everyone together, including the offended and the offender. Then through intense conversation, the community and the offended person would be healed through remuneration (for example the paying of a cow or goat to the offended, and the giving of traditional drink mbekye, wrongly pronounced mbege these days, to everyone).
Through this process of the admission of guilt by the offender, remuneration, the community would achieve reconciliation, forgiveness and most of all, peace. In this way, their philosophy of justice gives birth to peace, was quite evident. For them, as it has been in many cultures and philosophies, there can be no peace without justice.
The saying quoted above that “the invited one gets a share” was often demonstrated as follows:
When a family celebrates a certain occasion, a cow or goat is slaughtered and all members of the clan are invited. Each one who comes will be given food and drink and in some cases each family present will be given a portion of the meat to take home.
Each one present has that right and when it is given, there is peace in the clan and the community.
For our ancestors no one should be left out when it comes to justice. They strongly believed that justice is the mother of peace.
This is indeed a very basic philosophy of our humanity and it will serve us well to know it and practice it in our time, in families, communities, nations and community of nations.
