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LAB, Disability Commission to launch campaign on Disability Rights The Legal Aid Board and the National Commission for Persons with Disability are collaborating on rights issues pertaining to disabled persons. The target group includes the Blind, Wheelchair Users, Deaf, Amputees, War Wounded and Albinos. The disabled persons qualify for legal aid without any precondition because they are vulnerable. According to the National Outreach Officer for the Legal Aid Board, Mr. Ibrahim Kamara the Board has had two meetings with the Disability Commission this month.  The two agreed to launch a campaign in the coming weeks. ‘The campaign will draw attention to serious rights issues affecting the Disabled persons,’ he said.   The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles said the rights issues affecting Disabled persons are many and daunting. She noted that a good number of disabled persons are compelled to live on the streets because they do...

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 t...

The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles has praised WAEC for releasing the results of 253 pupils of the Trinity International Secondary School in Allen Town, less than twenty-four hours after an appeal to the effect. The Board had in a letter dated 22 February 2017 to WAEC appealed for the release of the results while pressure is being brought to bear on the school authorities to pay money owed the Council. The Head of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in Sierra Leone, Arnold Kamara in a telephone call on Thursday, February 23 confirmed to the Legal Aid Board the release of the results. The Board had got the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to arrest the principal of the school, Mr. Abdulai Mansaray while engaging the proprietor who was dodging an invitation to the Legal Aid Board office to produce receipts that will determine amount paid to WAEC so far. The Proprietor had also failed to make himself availabl...

Legal Aid South Africa praise LAB 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. H...

AG to launch LAB in Waterloo The Executive Director of the Legal Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles has told the people of Waterloo that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice (AG), Hon. Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara will serve as the keynote speaker at the launch of the Legal Aid Board in Waterloo in the Western Area Rural District on 6 May 2017. Ms. Carlton-Hanciles pointed out that Hon. Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara has served as keynote speaker in all the launches the Board has had around the country. He noted that the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice is the supervisory ministry for the Legal Aid Board and further underlined the importance of having the holder of the office at such events in terms of availing himself with the challenges ordinary people face in accessing the justice system. More importantly, it provides an opportunity for these issues to be discussed by the cabinet. Ms. Carlton-Hanciles made the disclosure while addressing a ...

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...