The Oromo Gadaa System: Why Considered Democratic?

Abstract

During their long history, the Oromo have developed their own socio-cultural and political system known as gadaa. Gadaa system has been considered as a uniquely indigenous democratic and just system than other forms of governance in the Horn of Africa. A number of scholars who have studied the gadaa system positioned it as an African democracy that could inform constitutional thinkers (see for example, Asmarom, 2000; Levine, 1974; Bassi, 2005; Zelalem 2017).  Gadaa has guided the social, political, economic and religious life of the Oromo for centuries, and also their philosophy, art, history and methods of time reckoning (Gadaa Melbaa, 1988).  All-important Oromo social values and traditions are embedded in the gadaa system. In this keynote speech, I was given a responsibility to explain why the Oromo Gadaa system is considered a democratic and just system and its contribution to Peace and Nation Building in Africa’s Quest for Renaissance.