legalaidboard

Legal Aid secures the discharge of Port Loko child The Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board has secured the discharge of a fourteen (14) year school boy from Port Loko. The boy was arrested on 10 August 2016 for house breaking. He was kept in police cell for twenty days before the matter was charged to court. He spent time on remand at the Prison in Port Loko before the Magistrate transferred his case to the juvenile court in Freetown on September 3. Whilst in Freetown, he was remanded at the Dems Juvenile Home in Kingtom. Lawyer for the Legal Aid Board, Joel Deen-Tarawally represented him in Court. He made an application for the matter to be discharged for want of prosecution pursuant to Section 94 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1965. He told the court that the complainant had appeared in court once despite several adjournments. He argued that it is unfair to continue to keep the offender in detention in a matter the complainant has not taken seriously. The applica

The Director of the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles has reacted furiously to the remand of three juvenile offenders at the Pademba Road Correctional Center for nearly two months. She raised the alarm after the Legal Aid Board secured their release on bail on Tuesday, 18 October 2016. ‘I have no idea why the boys were not remanded at the Dems Juvenile Remand Home at Kingtom in Freetown,’ she said. ‘Assuming the Home is full, the best interest of the children should have been given primacy by granting  them bail rather than remanding them at the Pademba Road Correctional Center.’ Ms. Carlton-Hanciles noted that the lack or inadequacy of detention facilities for children is a serious challenge facing the justice sector. She also lamented the stress juvenile offenders are being subjected to, having to travel long distances to attend court sittings.  ‘Our paralegals are grappling with these problems all over the country, whether it is in Port Loko in the

Legal Aid praise peaceful nature of launch in Bo. The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles has praised the people of Bo city for coming out in their thousands to grace the launch of the Legal Aid Office in Bo. The Director was particularly impressed with the peaceful manner the people conducted themselves. ‘Even though we had in the audience people from different political parties and shades of opinion, the launch passed off without any incident,’ she said. ‘There was plenty of drumming and dancing and most importantly the message went down very well. Everybody appreciate what the Board is doing and happy to work with us’ The Executive Director had this to say regarding the statements made by stakeholders including civil society, the Sierra Leone Motor Drivers Union and the Traders Council: ‘None of the speakers was critical of our operations or independence,’ she said. The Executive Director rubbished rumours peddled by cynics

  The Bo branch of the Legal Aid Board has been launched amongst thunderous applause at the Coronation Fields, Bo town. Thousands of school children, women’ and men’s groups, and traditional dancers marched through the streets of Bo town, to welcome legal aid into Bo, Kakua. Chairman for the occasion, Executive Director RADA Sierra Leone, Mr Augustine Robinson said that Saturday 8 th October was a very important day to the people of Bo. It was the day that Justice knocked at the doors of the people of Bo District, and the due process of the rights of individuals becomes effective in their lives, in the history of Kakua. Updating guests on the activities of the Bo branch of the Legal Aid Board, the Residents Defence Counsels, Bo District, Mamakoh Betty Kallon and Mohamed Bawoh, gave a rundown of both discharged and ongoing matters in the courts in Bo. The ongoing matters, the Lawyers said, ranges from Simple Larceny to Sexual offences. They revealed that they cover