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'''AFRICAN LEGAL PHILOSOPHY '''

'''1. Introduction ''' African Legal Philosophy has long been in existence but because of colonisation it was not developed. This lack of development has had a negative impact in having an African perspective when it comes into legal philosophy. One other inhibiting factor was that Africa as a continent is very vast and inhabited by various tribes with varying philosophical ideas. This has posed a challenge when it comes to coming up with one African Philosophy that can be attributable to the rest of Africa.

2. The nature of African Legal Philosophy The African Legal Philosophy is facing legitimacy challenges from other philosophers. These challenges are emanating from the fact that Africans were not used to writing down their ideas and opinions. This was also impacted upon by the fact even African culture is carried from generation to generation by telling their stories as opposed to return history. This has led to a situation where Eurocentric philosophers regarded African Legal Philosophy as non-existent. Secondly, fellow philosophers are struggling to accept philosophy due to the fact that they allege that there is not much difference between law and customs. This they say that it makes it difficult to distinguish a legal system from philosophy can be derived. This idea though is rejected by African philosophers like Idowu who is alleging that the ignorance of these philosophers to recognise the difference between African legal system and custom does not mean that this difference does not exist. Thirdly, other philosophers argue that even if an African Legal Philosophy can be in existence, it is not different from the Western Legal Philosophy. In backing up this point of argument, they raised the fact that like in the Western Legal Philosophy, there is a relationship between the law and morality. African Legal Philosophers are contending this point because the African context is different, the African law and African society are also different. This is where the difference in philosophy will lie. Lastly, African philosophers like Oruka are of the view that African Legal Philosophy does not have to be like Western philosophy for it to be recognised as philosophy. This is based on the fact that Africans have got African patterns and ways of doing things and this what is making them to be unique. The uniqueness of the African tradition like telling stories is an element of African philosophy and it is increasingly gaining momentum throughout the legal philosophy.

3. Types of African Legal Philosophy

3.1 Ethnophilosophy, this type of philosophy is based on the communal thought of passing communal wisdom by story telling. The telling of their stories is a means of sharing wisdom amongst the community members to ensure that the wisdom is shared among themselves.

3.2 Sage philosophy, this is a direct opposite of ethnophilosophy in that here only one person tells the story to the rest of the community. These are usually wise people who are insightful to the fundamental ethical and legal issues of the society as the whole. These people are regarded as the custodians of the survival of the society hence they are being consulted for their wisdom.

3.3 Nalistic-ideological philosophy, this kind of philosophy is based on an African communalism which is not either capitalist or socialist in nature. It is based on the fact that Africans must be proud of who they are and not undermine their ability and capabilities.

4. Themes in African Legal Philosophy

4.1 Communitarianism In the African context, the community needs always take precedent to the individual needs. That is why reconciliation is a prefered method of settling disputes in the African context. This what makes the Africans to regard the law as the safe-guard of their social existence.

4.2 Reconciliation The basic concept of reconciliation is that a person is a person through other people. This emanates from the fact that social cohesion and community values are paramount in the African society. The law is viewed as an instrument to maintain this equilibrium in the society with a view of promoting peace and stability.

4.3 Ubuntu Ubuntu is an African concept which cannot be translated to the best of its meaning to the West. However, it has been prominent in South Africa during the dawn of the new Constitutional democracy. It is about the values of the African culture, whereby younger people respect the older ones, being able to live in harmony and be able to help each other. it prefers concerted efforts and collective decisions of majority than individuals. The Interim Constitution of the Republic of South Africa introduced this concept to the academics and courts. Consequently, it led to drastic changes in the South African pieces of legislations and Case law. Ubuntu in the field of legal philosophy has the following central components; communitarianism, reciprocity, relational, physical reality and reconciliation and consensus. It has been criticised though for being bloated, entrenches patriarchy and reaching its end.

5. Intersection between African legal philosophy and other theories African legal philosophy is a global issue due to the fact that Africa is not in isolation, there are other continents and philosophers in those continents whom they influence the African legal philosophy. In the same vein African legal philosophers also influence the world by being part of the global philosophical discourse. Idowu has different views on how the African legal philosophy is influenced by the other Western countries trying to show that African legal philosophy is not an island.