Justice was a communal affair and society set a high store by social harmony and peace. The belief was that a person is a person only through other persons, and a broken person needed to be helped to be healed .What the offence had disturbed should be restored, and the offender and the victim had to be helped to be reconciled.
古老的非洲社会蕴藏着很多智慧。他们认为司法是一项公共事务，而社会看重的是融洽与和谐。他们相信人只有透过他人才能实现自我的完善，而破碎的人格需要别人的帮助才能够得以复原。犯罪行为破坏的秩序需要得到恢复，而我们必须协助罪犯和受害者实现和解。