Restorative Justice and Alternative Dispute Resolution: An Analytical Discourse for African Professionals

The strong advocacy for Restorative Justice and Alternative Dispute Resolution in Africa; and evolving models is a welcomed development for penal reforms and conflict resolution. However, as an African adage says "it is when a tripod is being designed and constructed that the legs should be set straight to forestall cook wares falling". This study drew its strength from a completed Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) dissertation initially reviewed with the aim of setting the record straight in the meaning and conceptions of restorative justice and alternative dispute resolution for African practitioners. This is imperative because as the saying goes "words put differently make different meanings, and meaning put differently yield different actions". So if restorative justice and alternative dispute resolution must advance professionally, and as academic disciplines in Africa, practitioners and academics must understand the 'thin' differences inherent in the principles and practice of restorative justice, and alternative dispute resolution.