Justice in Namibia

Abstract

Abstract provided by author

From the 21st to the 28th June 2007, I conducted fieldwork in Tsumeb, Namibia. The aim of this fieldwork was to find out the people's concept of justice in the semi-urban city of Tsumeb

One of the objectives of this fieldwork was to establish the people's perception of justice with respect to the payment of compensation and imprisonment. Thus such material would have to be accurate and culturally acceptable. However, it should be noted that the people interviewed in this fieldwork did not always have accurate answers and in some instances contradicted each other

Looking at the concept of justice from the 'people' perspective will, indeed, challenge most modern Western conceptions, philosophy, psychology and theology theories and expose them to the reality of the field. It is acknowledged that some of the conclusions are highly personal and should be considered as such. However, the results have been confirmed by various literatures on the subject, which have contributed substantially towards the preparation of a more relevant document. The reader may feel that, at times, the discussion goes beyond a simple analysis of the concept of justice. However, this is, at times, necessary in order for the reader to get a broader picture of the people and their lifestyles. It should also be noted that a totally objective analysis of the fieldwork would not be possible. Therefore, the purpose of the present report clearly became to present as realistic a picture as possible of the people and their perception of justice

The information obtained would have to be looked at from several angles in order to try to alleviate some of the bias mentioned. Hence, researchers would need to keep an open mind towards the results obtained. Due to the time constraint the research conducted is limited. Therefore, although the information found herein is adequate and correct, additional reading is recommended to the reader in order to get a broader view of the subject matter.