LAB and OSIWA paralegal training ends
with a certification ceremony
The Country Officer of the Open
Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Joe Pemagbi on Thursday, January 26
presented certificates to 45 Paralegals and staff of the Legal Aid Board at the
end of an eight-day OSIWA-funded training. The ceremony took place at the
Senior Police Officers Mess at Kingtom in Freetown.
The beneficiaries of the training
include 35 OSIWA-funded paralegals of the Legal Aid Board, three Paralegals of
the Lady Ellen Women’s Aid Foundation and seven staff of the Legal Aid Board.
In his statement, Mr. Pemagbi said
the Board had approached his organization a couple of months ago for support to
the scheme. He said Sierra Leone is lucky to be one of nine countries to
implement the Legal Empowerment Shared Framework. He added that the Shared Framework
is a pro-poor initiative meaning the Paralegals have to ensure those who cannot
afford to access justice because it is expensive are able to do so.
He disclosed that six other
non-governmental organizations funded by OSIWA will also be partnering with the
Legal Aid Board in communities around the country to promote access to primary
justice. ‘These organizations will be training their own Paralegals,’ he said. He
noted that he will be looking forward to a public-private partnership in
promoting access to justice to the poor and marginalized.
Mr. Pemagbi revealed that OSIWA is also
funding NAMATI and the Justice Sector Coordinating Office (JSCO) to monitor
organizations which are implementing the Legal Empowerment Shared Framework
project.
He used the occasion to announce the
donation of five motorcycles and computers as part of OSIWA support to the
Board.
The Executive Director of the Legal
Aid Board, Ms. Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles underlined that there is still a
lot of work to be done in the 14 districts.
‘I am concerned that the jails
are still full,’ she said. ‘You have to ensure the numbers behind bar fall. You
should resolve cases that would otherwise go to the police or court.’
In this view, she called on the
Paralegals to work closely with the Police and the Correctional Service. In
additional, they should also work closely with traditional leaders and civil
society actors to tackle access to justice problems.
Ms. Carlton-Hanciles said the scheme
has opened offices in seven locations in the country and have been able to
provide legal assistance to twenty-six thousand (26,000) indigents in the last
year. She noted that with 35 paralegals
the Board will be able to increase its presence and impact around the country.
She announced that the Board will be
opening offices in Waterloo in the Western Area Rural District and Bonthe in
the Southern Province. ‘The Waterloo area is one of the fastest growing in the country
couple with the fact that the crime rate is among the highest,’ she said. ‘This
is why we have assigned a lawyer and five paralegals to the Waterloo area.’ She
thanked the Government for it continued support to the scheme.
Giving an overview of the project,
the Regional Programme Officer for the East for the Legal Aid Board, James
Thomas-Mafinda said the paralegals have hit the ground running since they were
deployed in December 2016. He attributed this to the fact that the Paralegals
have lived and worked in the district they have been deployed.
‘The Paralegals were living in their
respective districts at the time they were recruited, as such they have the
advantage of understanding their areas of operation and its people,’ he said.
‘More importantly they have been trained as Paralegals in the past by legal aid
organization like NAMATI and TIMAP for Justice.’
He assured that the Paralegals are
ready to give off their best in addressing access to justice problems in the
community. ‘The Paralegals are ready to implement what they have been taught in
eight days,’ he stressed.
The ceremony was climaxed with a skit
by the WANPOT Comedians. The skit highlights the injustices people face in
accessing the justice. This includes suspects charged on false allegations and
the use of money and influence to have people arrested and kept behind bars. It
also sensitized the audience on the mandate of the Board and the fact that people
should not pay for services of the scheme. It underscored the need for staff of
the Board to be non-partisan and impartial.