TRADITIONAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION AMONG SOMALI CLAN’S MEN

I must confess that I was overhearing the deliberations of a group of elders debating on how to resolve a land dispute in Garowe, Puntland, the other day. Not present in the discussions was a lady involved in the case. This is not out of the ordinary as women here are always represented by men at elders’ forums. They have no voice in the affairs of conflict resolution and in deciding civil and legal cases. They are either part of men’s households or blood properties of the women’s respective clans. As usual, the woman’s right to hearing was never raised in this particular discussion. The parties of only men to this dispute were present in the hearing.

One interesting take away from this particular deliberation is the proposal of one party to be satisfied with either one of two options for resolution of the dispute:
a) Sharia law
b) Customary law of clan system
The other party rejected to referring the case to the Sharia law on the basis of their opinion that today’s people have weak moral standing to trust them with truth-telling at legal bench as they are likely to swear in perjury.

In my experience as a grown-up person, this is the first time I heard a Somali person rejecting Sharia Law on the basis of losing faith in people’s honest to tell the truth under oath. Society is changing and requires updating tools for conflict resolution.

The deliberations went on to conclude in a typical elders’ mediation between parties, satisfying both parties as fair judgement on the case.

Land disputes are many and severe in Somalia nowadays, resulting in loss of lives. It is no longer the disputes over camel hustling.

(This article has been edited since posting)

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