Bakundu Traditional Authority System: An epitome of African Traditional Democracy
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Abstract
This article examines the precolonial Bakundu traditional authority system as a distinctive expression of African democracy. It argues that Bakundu political organisation was based on collective deliberation, moral accountability and a participatory ethos that anticipated many of the principles associated with modern democratic governance. Drawing from archival sources, oral interviews and scholarly interpretations, the study analyses the institutional structure of the Bakundu polity made up of the Mowele Mboka (village head), Janea ra Mboka (traditional council), and Bekali (secret societies) – to reveal how they functioned as instruments of justice, conflict resolution, and community cohesion. Far from being autocratic or primitive, Bakundu governance represented a dynamic system of checks and balances rooted in the people’s collective will. The article concludes that the Bakundu model exemplifies the participatory, consultative and moral foundations of African democracy before colonial disruptions.
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non–Commercial No Derivatives License which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of the Publisher must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
