Legal Aid Board: Breaking new grounds in the Justice Sector.

Legal Aid Board: Breaking new grounds in the Justice Sector 

Joseph Dumbuya

There is a familiar saying in FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalist) circles which goes like this: “The reward for hard work is more work’. This holds true for the Legal Aid Board.  

Even though there is empirical evidence to suggest a lot has been achieved in less than ten months of existence, people just can’t stop asking for more, which shows people have confidence in the Board.

I have had the opportunity of attending some of the meetings and workshops of the Board especially those with civil society groups. I am encouraged at the goodwill of ordinary people to see the Board succeed. They wish government could just pour a lot more resources into its operations.

But this goodwill is at a price. They expect the organization to address most, if not all of the challenges plaguing the Justice Sector and even go beyond its remit. Expectedly, this was on show Thursday, February 11, at the meeting with civil society groups and the media in the conference room of the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice.

The Attorney General, Joseph Kamara was in attendance. Kamara has hit the ground running since assuming his new office and has the Board in his sight. This is not a surprise for a man reputed for being fiercely ambitious and has an unquenchable appetite for success. But who would not like to associate with a success story? More so, if you also stand to benefit from it.

The convener of the meeting, the Executive Director of the Board, Ms. Claire Carlton-Hanciles was set to give a progress report. In little over five months  - from 1 September 2015 to 9 February 2016 - the Board has had 126 cases discharged, it has secured bail for 65 accused persons, 10 clients are now serving prison sentences and 15 cases have been committed to High Court. The Board is also representing 29 juvenile cases.  This has been achieved with six in-house lawyers.  

But more importantly, Ms. Carlton-Hanciles was keen to showcase one Zachariah Koroma who has gained his freedom through legal presentation provided by the Board. But Zachariah is unique by every means. He was charged with murder and had been standing trial for over two years. He got blind in 2015 while on remand at the Pademba Road Correctional Center.

Zachariah’s case invokes both sorrow and anger. Sorrow, stems from him losing his sight in prison and anger at the fact that he will not be compensated. He is returning into society but this time around he would not be able to practice his skill. With no new skill acquired in prison, he would now have to face a new reality of life. His survival will now depend on the goodwill of others.

One of the leading voices in civil society, Sulaiman Jabati was quick to pick on the issue. He lamented the plight of Zachariah and demanded compensation for him and wanted the Legal Aid Board to do something about it. This issue nearly overshadowed the meeting.

Ms. Carlton-Hanciles found herself answering to a question not regarding how her organization secured Zachariah’s release but rather compensation for him. Needless to say, the issue of compensation does not fall within the Board’s mandate. Also, the laws of Sierra Leone do not provide for one for victims of human rights violations. Simply put, they are left to carry their cross. Jabati could have none of it, he wants a new law that will guarantee compensation for such victims.  

The doyen of Sierra Leone journalism, Oswald Hanciles upped the tension when he burst into the conference hall feverishly trying to ‘kidnap’ Zachariah for an interview.

Jabati is no stranger to asking loaded questions. He raised an issue which seems to suggest that the Board is making life difficult for other Legal Aid Organizations in out-competing them for resources. He singled out Timap for Justice and Advocaid as examples. Well, it must be said the two organizations have attended workshops organized by the Board and have never expressed such concerns. I remember the head of Timap for Justice, Sonkita had suggested in one of the workshops that the Legal Aid Guide should be made a statutory instrument. Well, fears may be muted in other quarters but there no evidence to sustain them and may be rooted in ignorance.

There is no question resource constraints have been a key challenge in the provision of legal aid. This has led legal aid organizations into targeting clusters within specific groups and areas in the country.

The Board like other legal aid organizations does not have the luxury of resources. According to sources, it has funds to provide legal aid to 10,000 clients - those who qualify for the scheme - out of a projected caseload of 96,000 for 2016. So, you still have more than enough for other organizations to service.

Notwithstanding these fears, the Board is good for legal aid organizations. As the led legal aid organization, the Board provides the platform which none other can to showcase and publicize the magnitude of the challenges in the provision of legal aid. This will guide donors in terms of the amount of support to legal aid organizations.

Aside from expectations, there are issues of negativity to contend with as well. There are those who accuse the Board of being on the side criminals. They argue that providing legal aid is an incentive to commit crime. They had forced the Executive Director into issuing a press release in December 2015 to warn the public that the scheme does not support those who go out of their way to commit crime.

But hang on a minute, what is the evidence for this? As a matter of fact, the Board is the only organization I know of which sensitizes clients immediately following their release by the court on civic education before they return to their community. Also, in spite of the limited resources, the Board has been following-up on a few of its beneficiaries in their respective communities. It is worthy of note that there is no evidence to support claims that beneficiaries of the scheme do re-offend. If that is the case the police would have told us.

It is important to underline that the Board has a mandate to provide legal services to the poor and marginalized. This is to ensure they are not disadvantaged in accessing justice. It is not the responsibility of the Board to ensure those who benefit from the scheme are reintegrated and do not re-offend. There are institutions responsible for this.  This involves supporting them into achieving sustainable livelihood which is key in ensuring they remain law abiding.

Government and charitable organizations receiving funds for this purpose should step-up in addressing challenges ex-convicts face. They need skills training, psychological and financial support.

Now that we have a Correctional Service, the institution should not exist in name.  Those who go through it should be taught skills that will guarantee them a livelihood when they return to society.

The Board has also helped in breaking the secrecy and fear factor around the Justice Sector and in the process it has helped promote understanding of its work. So you now have the Sierra Leone Correctional Service moving away from the lame excuse of not being responsible for the congestion in the Correctional Centers around the country. You must have been tired of hearing them say that they only provide custody for accused persons or convicts sent in by the court.

Now you notice a change of tone. Thanks to the partnership with the Legal Aid Board. The two meets regularly and the platform provides an opportunity for the Correctional Service to share with the Legal Aid Board challenges facing the department.

With this information, the Board has been able to assist with securing indictments for those who do not have one. For instance, Abdul Bangura was charged with murder and remanded at the Pademba Road Correction Center in 2009. He only got his indictment in September 2015, four months after the Legal Aid Board came into existence. The Board represented him in Court and had him discharged for want of prosecution. Abdul is one among hundreds who have had their indictments through the intervention of the Legal Aid Board.

Also, through these meetings, the Board has secured justice for those who have been literally abandoned at the Correctional Centers because they have been denied bail. In many such cases the complainant has abandoned the case and the Prosecution cannot continue with the matter, key witnesses have disappeared into thin air or the Prosecution has not got enough evidence to proceed with the matter.

Among this group, you have some who have served more time in prison than the maximum sentence for the crime they are alleged to have committed if they were convicted.  For instance, Alimamy Carew spent nearly seven months on remand for allegedly stealing nine pieces of board valued at one hundred and eighty thousand leones (Le180,000). Alimamy would have spent not more than five months in prison had he been found guilty of the offence he is alleged to have committed.

The Board is also making life a lot better for the judiciary. Many a time, people tend to blame the judiciary for the challenges in accessing justice. There is tendency to blame everything on it.

Imagine taking dictation and spelling in primary school and you will appreciate the time and work that goes into taking record of proceedings and this is something they have to do for hours and on a daily basis.   

But the intervention of the Legal Aid Board has shown that members of the Bench are equally as frustrated over the injustices as everyone else and for many of such cases they are not even aware of them. Justice Hamilton was visible angry over the committed of a matter to the High Court which should not have been sent there in the first place.

All it takes to secure some of these discharges is for the Legal Aid Board Lawyers to state the facts of the case. Justice Margai has discharged a manslaughter charge against Alpha Bah in the interest of justice because nobody knows how long he has been standing trial. The only thing the Judge could remember is that the case was transferred to his court some time ago and he has adjourned it several times on the request of the prosecution who do not have enough evidence to proceed with the case. For many of the cases represented by the Legal Aid Board you actually sense the urgency on the part of the bench to do something about an apparent injustice.

The Sierra Leone Police are also relishing the partnership with the Legal Aid Board. The Board had been reconciling communities with the police. The Calaba and Fourah Bay communities have benefited from the Board’s Alternative Dispute Mechanisms. Also, issues of treatment, detention and bail for suspects have improved.

The police have found in the Board an avenue to seek redress. In September 2015, the Board secured bail for four police officers from the Central Police Station who had spent four months on remand at the Pademba Road Correctional Center. Apart from securing bail for the officers, the Board also ensured they were reinstated into the police force.

The officers had arrested three suspects at Common Ground on Robert Street for anti-social behavior on the 29 May 2015. The suspects spent the night in police cell and were release on bail the following morning. One of the suspects died in the evening of his release. The matter was reported to the central police station. The investigations culminated in the arrested of the four offices on 6 June 2015 and were consequently charged with manslaughter.

The Board may be struggling to manage expectations but there is no question it has already done more than enough to impress even the cynics given what has been achieved in less then ten months and the resources at its disposal.