Ubuntu, the San Code, AREMS and ethics in reviews

Ubuntu as the source of African research ethics

Ubuntu is Africa’s own philosophy of interconnectedness and relational responsibility, and it is the foundation from which African research ethics are derived, rather than an ethics framework borrowed from elsewhere and applied to African contexts. Ubuntu is often reduced to the single phrase, I am because we are, but it operates across five levels: the person is because of family, community, society, environment and spirituality. A manuscript that claims Ubuntu grounding but only gestures at one of these levels has not fully engaged with the philosophy.

When reviewing, ask whether the author’s use of Ubuntu, or related concepts such as ukama or ujamaa, reflects a genuine engagement with these levels of relationship, or whether it is a label attached to an otherwise conventional Western framework. This question matters for every Mtandao journal, and is especially central when reviewing for the Journal of Ubuntu.

The San Code of Research Ethics

The San Code was created by the San people of South Africa, in response to decades of research that humiliated, deceived and failed to benefit them. Mtandao endorses the Code and recommends its use by all researchers, in any discipline, not only those working with San communities. Its five sections are respect, honesty, justice and fairness, care, and process.

• Respect: researchers engage with communities in advance of carrying out research, and do not assume automatic approval
• Honesty: open, clear exchange in accessible language, with no deviation from the stated purpose of the research
• Justice and fairness: participants and communities receive what they might reasonably expect, which may be non-monetary, such as co-research opportunities or skills sharing
• Care: research is aligned to local needs and is carried out in a way that improves the lives of those involved
• Process: the research idea is collectively designed with the community, from project approval through to publication

As a reviewer, use these five sections as a checklist when reading a manuscript’s ethics or methodology section. A statement that reads as though it was copied from a textbook, rather than describing what actually happened in this particular study, is a signal worth raising with the editor.

AREMS

The African Research Ethics and Malpractice Statement (AREMS) is Mtandao’s own ethics statement, grounded in Ubuntu and aligned with the San Code. Where a manuscript’s ethics section is thin or generic, you can refer the author, through the editor, to AREMS as the expected standard for African research ethics.

Ethics in reviews

Ethics applies to how you conduct the review itself, not only to what you look for in the manuscript. This means keeping the manuscript and the author’s identity confidential, disclosing any conflict of interest to the editor, giving a fair and honest assessment even where a personal view differs from the author’s, and never using material from a manuscript under review in your own work before it is published.