By Theresa Kef Sesay
The Legal Aid Board is a non-profit Government agency that commenced operations in May 2015 following the passage of the Legal Aid Act 2012. It is currently the largest and most visible legal aid organization.
One of its core functions borders on providing Legal Advice and Legal Representation to indigent persons in Sierra Leone regardless of nationality.
Another of its key functions relates to offering Legal Advice and Assistance through Mediation. Others include the dissemination of Legal Education through Community; School and Radio Phone-ins and Regulation of Legal Aid Provision.
Since it started operations in the country the Legal Aid Board has made commendable achievements. The Board has offices in 26 cities and towns across the country within the Freetown/Western Urban, Western Area Rural, the 14 district headquarter towns upcountry and the ten chiefdoms the most recent being Kamara, Soa and Gbense Chiefdoms in Kono District.
So far 453, 809 persons, including foreign nationals, have benefitted from the scheme from its inception in May 2015 to March 2021.
24,768 benefitted from the scheme in 2015/16; 83,053 in 2017; 106,655 in 2018; 112,841 in 2019, 85,852 in 2020 and 40,640 in the first quarter of 2021.
The Legal Aid Board continues to carry the criminal calendar by virtue of the fact that it represents indigent accused persons, who are in the majority, brought before the General Courts. It represented all accused persons brought before the Special Criminal Sessions upcountry in the first half of 2021.
The Board is one of the lead institutions in the implementation of Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
23 satellite offices have been established called Community Advisory Bureau to ensure communities take some ownership of their justice needs to reduce the pressure on the Police and courts.
Like any institution the Legal Aid Board has certain challenges it is wrestling with. The institution has 18 Legal Aid Counsels/Lawyers on its staff which is way below the minimum number of lawyers needed by the Board.
Furthermore, the Board has a total of 65 Paralegals and Volunteer Paralegals which is also far below the minimum requirement provided in the Legal Aid Act 2012.
Section 14 (2) of the Act provides that: “The Board shall appoint at least one Paralegal to each chiefdom.” There are 190 chiefdoms in the country.
Against the aforementioned backdrop, the Board needs more staff particularly Lawyers (10) and Paralegals (28). The former will greatly play roles covering the Sexual Offences Court in Freetown and Courts which have been established upcountry by the Chief Justice of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
In its latest strides, the Legal Aid Board has conducted a nationwide UNDP- funded training of Police Investigators and Prosecutors on the 2018 Bail Regulation. The final training took place at the Kailahun District Council Canteen in Kailahun town on the 29th July 2021.
The training was conducted in eight districts with Kailahun being the last. The project targeted 50 Investigators and Prosecutors from each district thereby bringing the total to 400 officers who benefited from the training during the last four weeks.
The first training was held in Moyamba district on the 7 July 2021. This was followed by Bo on July 8; Kambia on July 14; Port Loko on July 15; Kono on July 21; Tonkolili on July 22; Pujehun on July 27 and Kailahun on July 29 respectively.
The trainings were geared towards addressing abuses and challenges in respect of bail which people face from the time they are arrested by the Police until their matters are concluded in the courts.
Moreover, the officers were trained on the guidelines and factors which they should follow when granting or denying bail to suspects at Police Stations or accused persons in the courts. This is meant to ensure consistency in the application of bail both at the police and the courts as prescribed in the Regulation.
It was the expectation that the training will enhance the capacity of Police Officers to address injustices and conflicts in communities.
