Much of the literature on the liberal peace in Africa either critiques its inability to deliver durable post-conflict settlements or examines the emergence of hybrid forms of peace that arise when local actors resist, adapt, modify, or co-opt external interventions. This chapter advances this debate by offering a sustained analytical engagement with customary conceptions of peace and their relationship to the liberal peace paradigm. It argues that African customary mechanisms, while often marginalized in dominant peacebuilding discourse, constitute coherent and normatively rich systems of peacebuilding in their own right. These mechanisms emphasize spirituality, forgiveness, reconciliation, communal wellbeing, and the restoration of relationships, dimensions frequently sidelined within liberal peace frameworks that privilege state institutions and legal-rational authority. Rather than positioning African customary approaches as merely reactive or supplementary, the chapter foregrounds their distinctive philosophical foundations and examines how they challenge, complement, and potentially enrich liberal peacebuilding. Drawing on two case studies from East Africa, namely, the Bashingantahe institution in Burundi and the Mato Oput ritual among the Acholi in northern Uganda, the chapter develops a thematic and comparative analysis that highlights contrasts in authority, justice, and peace ontology. The findings demonstrate that while African customary mechanisms face limitations related to scale, inclusivity and pluralism, they offer critical insights into relational, moral and spiritual dimensions of peace that are essential for sustainable post-conflict recovery. The chapter concludes that integrating African customary mechanisms alongside liberal frameworks, through context sensitive and pluralistic approaches, can open more holistic and locally grounded pathways to peace in Africa and beyond.