The Concept of Justice between the biblical Conflict of Cain-Abel and the Great Lakes Conflict of Hutu -Tutsi By Maximiano Ngabirano (PhD) Uganda Martyrs University . . . since [all] are brethren by nature and in faith and indwelling of grace, and have the same Father and Creator who is God, and are bound by the same covenant, which is His law, there is no reason why the one should despise the other. (Alonso de Sandoval, De Instuaranda Aethiopum Salute, 1627) Abstract The paper discusses conflict in terms of existing socially built networks (topologies) in human relations. It shows that conflicts originate from people’s failure to complement each other in their life styles; they are perpetuated by memory and later by identities that are created over time. It also looks at justice as conceived by victims in conflicts exemplified by narratives of Cain-Abel and Hutu Tutsi. It proposes that these are just examples of conflict in human relations which characterise other conflicts based on differing narratives. It concludes by suggesting that in order to tackle issues of living together, the past has to be looked at not as a museum that serves to relegate other people to a periphery of relationships, but as a past full of meaning and lessons for the present and the future. Introduction The Great Lakes region, like many other communities in the world, is constructed on memories of the past which make a peaceful life sometimes impossible to achieve. Past memories have created disastrous conflicts by turning social groups of differing narratives and identities into antagonists and thereby destroying the basic essence of a moral community (Hoffman, 1981). Following their past, most post independence communities in Africa have passed through violent conflicts. These conflicts are largely built on struggles over political forces seeking to dominate others based on ethnic and