Indigenous Conflict Management and Contemporary Water Resource Governance in Rural Zimbabwe

Abstract

Indigenous conflict management has been a key feature of pre- and post-colonial African societies in managing varied community disputes related to natural resources. In Zimbabwe, the Dare, the traditional court works similarly. However, there have been few insights on the effectiveness of indigenous community-based mechanisms in managing primary water conflicts. The paper argues that although there are widespread and varied water conflicts within the rural setting, the grassroots nature, combined with simple and clear procedures of the traditional court systems makes it a viable option in managing emergent primary water conflicts at the community level. There is a need to synchronise this indigenous community-based conflict management mechanism with the state-run judicial system. However, the operation of the indigenous conflict management mechanism within the framework of competitive African politics has made it vulnerable to political intrusions. Water governance, using traditional court systems would likely benefit from equal gender representation in the decision-making structures.