The Chairperson of the Legal Aid South Africa, Judge President D. Mlambo has said he is impressed with the successes of the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board at the community level. He admitted this is an area South Africa will need to learn from Sierra Leone. The Judge Mlambo made this remark at a meeting with staff of the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board and TIMAP for Justice - a local legal aid service provider - at the head office of the Board in Freetown. The Judge was head of a four-person delegation to the country.
Judge Mlambo noted that the scheme in South Africa has achieved a lot in terms of dedicating legal aid in the courts and quality assurance, at the same time it is struggling to create an impact in the community. ‘This is because the Ministry of Justice expect the scheme not to do anything civil,’ he said. The Judge pointed out that the Legal Aid Act of South Africa allows the scheme to provide legal aid in civil matters.
He said he is surprised to learn that local chiefs including Tribal Heads adjudicate or mediate matters. At the same time, he is impressed at the relationship between the Board and actors in the justice sector at the informal level. More so, the training of community members as Paralegals which is part of efforts at expanding justice at the community level. ‘In South Africa we are not training people in the community as Paralegals, this is something we need to look at,’ the Judge said.
Judge Mlambo underlined the role of civil society in promoting access to justice in South Africa. ‘Civil society is the way to go for the continent,’ he maintained. Speaking on the purpose of the visit, the Learned Judge said they are here to finalize discussions for the conference in Kigali, Rwanda in August 2017. ‘We need to get rid of conservatism,’ he said.
Mr. Boroto Ntekobajira of the National Alliance for the Development of Community Advice Office (Nadcao) said the conference is meant to share experiences to strengthen collaboration between the formal and informal justice sector. Also, it will examine Alternative Justice Initiatives.
He said the vision of the conference generate idea relating to the setting up of an African Center of Excellence. The Center will benefit legal aid networks on the continent.
He noted that Sierra Leone is part of five countries that will be steering the conference. The others include South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda and Malawi.
Ms. Vuyiswa Sidzumo of Charles Steward MOTT Foundation said she was impressed with the work of the Board’s Community Advisory Bureaus (CAB), particularly the fact that they are run by volunteers who cater for the justice needs of their respective communities through mediation of civil matters, assistance to those accessing the formal justice system, referrals and legal education.
The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles gave a brief background to the Board, noting that it started operations in May 2015. She underscored the activities of the Board in promoting the Rule of Law.
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said the Board has learned a lot from the scheme in South Africa through meetings, correspondences and from its website. She added Professor Macleoid Mason a South African contributed to the drafting of the Sierra Leone’s Legal Aid Act 2012. In addition, the Board has offices in eight locations in the country, sixteen lawyers and forty-one paralegals. He added that the lawyers cover all the Magistrate and High Courts in the country.
She said some of the challenges facing the Board are due in part to colonialism which left behind two justice systems – the formal compromising the junior and senior courts of the judicature and the informal presided over by the chiefs, tribal headmen and religious leaders which is access by majority of the people.
She said the Board is struggling to cope with the huge percentage of the population who qualify for legal aid. Also, a lot of people do not understand how the formal court system works.
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles pointed out that when the Board started operations the jails were full and that the situation has not changed to date. She noted that the Board has provided legal assistance to clients who have been on remand for between four to ten years.
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