Transitional Justice and Political Pre-Transition in Zimbabwe

Transitional justice is a fast-growing concept, both in practice and in its scholarship. Even though the parameters of its practice are not yet precisely defined, transitional justice is being prescribed as an indispensable component of the transition from violence and repression to more just and peaceable dispensations. African examples include Rwanda, South Africa and Sierra Leone. The expectations placed on transitional justice have increased exponentially as victims and victim associations, social justice and human rights advocates, governments, regional and international organisations, as well as donors, have increasingly adopted the language of transitional justice in conflict situations. Academic efforts to understand the concept have similarly witnessed phenomenal growth and, within just a few years, transitional justice has developed into a field of study in its own right. This transitional justice momentum has taken root in Zimbabwe even before there has been a political transition in the country.