Many societies in Africa in transition have been employing transitional justice (TJ) mechanisms to enable them to confront the challenges of accountability for human rights abuses and other atrocities committed by past regimes. Truth commissions (TCs) have emerged as the preferred TJ approach to dealing with the past, especially in Africa, because of the restorative justice and the holistic and communal approach to conflict resolution. Since the incorporation of the offense of Crimes against Humanity in international criminal law via the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2008, Truth Commissions formed thereafter have tended to incorporate a strong criminal justice component in their investigative mandates. As a result, truth commissions have fallen short of addressing victims’ needs and fostering reconciliation in post-conflict societies in Africa. Kenya is used as a case study to demonstrate how the local tribunal and the truth-seeking process failed to provide justice and reconcile communities. Rwanda on the other hand succeeded in decolonizing its justice system to respond to the massive challenges caused by the genocide. The study applies the Decoloniality theory to discuss valuable insights for reimagining transitional justice in ways that align more closely with African realities and aspirations. The study uses secondary data. Information about the traditional justice process and selected truth commissions has been gathered from books, journal papers, and policy documents. The paper concludes that decolonizing African justice systems through reviving traditional systems could lead to restorative justice that enables healing, reconciliation, and sustainable peace.