The principles underpinning Ubuntu served as guide and food for thoughts to some of the
perpetrators and victims who came before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
(TRC). Graybill (1998) also notes that during the TRC process, perpetrators openly confessed their
sins, and victims freely forgive them. The TRC thus, became the foundation of the ground breaking
restorative justice legislation in South Africa (Jenkins, 2006). The reconciliation process normally
involves the victims and perpetrators as well as their family members and friends. The practice is
crucial because, the act of reconciliation symbolizes the willingness of the parties to move beyond
the psychological bitterness that had prevailed in the minds of the parties during the Apartheid.
Nussbaum (2003) explains that, Ubuntu is a capacity in African culture for compassion,
reciprocity, dignity, harmony and humanity in the interest of building and maintaining the
community. The concept therefore invites us to believe and feel that, ‘your pain is my pain, my
success is your success, your wealth is my wealth and my salvation is your salvation’. Therefore,
the notion of Ubuntu sheds light on the importance of peace making through the principles of
reciprocity, restorative justice, inclusivity and a sense of shared destiny between people. Thus,
Ubuntu provides a value system for giving and receiving forgiveness. It also provides a ratio