From the 21st to the 28th June 2007, I conducted fieldwork in Tsumeb, Namibia. The aim of this
fieldwork was to find out the people’s concept of justice in the semi-urban city of Tsumeb.
One of the objectives of this fieldwork was to establish the people’s perception of justice with
respect to the payment of compensation and imprisonment. Thus such material would have to be
accurate and culturally acceptable. However, it should be noted that the people interviewed in
this fieldwork did not always have accurate answers and in some instances contradicted each
other.
Looking at the concept of justice from the ‘people’ perspective will, indeed, challenge most
modern Western conceptions, philosophy, psychology and theology theories and expose them to
the reality of the field. It is acknowledged that some of the conclusions are highly personal and
should be considered as such. However, the results have been confirmed by various literatures on
the subject, which have contributed substantially towards the preparation of a more relevant
document. The reader may feel that, at times, the discussion goes beyond a simple analysis of the
concept of justice. However, this is, at times, necessary in order for the reader to get a broader
picture of the people and their lifestyles. It should also be noted that a totally objective analysis
of the fieldwork would not be possible. Therefore, the purpose of the present report clearly
became to present as realistic a picture as possible of the people and their perception of justice.
The information obtained would have to be looked at from several angles in order to try to
alleviate some of the bias mentioned. Hence, researchers would need to keep an open mind
towards the results obtained. Due to the time constraint the research conducted is limited.
Therefore, although the information found herein is adequate and correct, additional reading is
recommended to the reader in order to get a broader view of the subject matter.