A DESCRIPTIVE ETHICAL STUDY OF AFRICAN CONCEPT OF LAW AND PUBLIC MORALITY

Abstract

This article provides a descriptive ethical study of the African concept of law and public morality. Descriptive ethics is concerned with describing and explaining the moral beliefs and practices that actually exist in a society, rather than prescribing what ought to be. The study therefore seeks to describe how law and public morality are understood and practised in the African traditional setting. The methodology adopted for this study is qualitative and library-based. It relies on a critical analysis of relevant literature in African philosophy, anthropology, sociology and legal studies. It also draws on ethnographic accounts of traditional African societies and the works of leading African philosophers. The approach is interpretive and descriptive. The findings of the study show that in the African worldview, law and public morality are not strictly separated. Both have their roots in the community and in shared spiritual beliefs. African law is mainly customary, unwritten and restorative in nature. Its main purpose is not to punish the offender but to restore harmony, peace and balance in the community. Public morality in Africa is communal, and it is based on values such as respect for elders, honesty, hospitality, hard work, sanctity of life and solidarity. An individual is seen as moral only to the extent that he or she contributes to the wellbeing of the community. This is well expressed in the famous saying, I am because we are. The study also finds that taboos, proverbs, folktales and ancestral sanctions play a central role in sustaining law and public morality. The study recommends that modern African legal systems should pay more attention to restorative justice and community based dispute resolution mechanisms that are rooted in African culture. It also recommends that African public morality should be taught in schools and promoted through community institutions to address contemporary moral challenges such as corruption, individualism and loss of community spirit. There is a need to create a dialogue between modern state law and African customary law so that both can work together for justice and social order.