June 10, 2016 By Hassan Gbassay Koroma
The Legal Aid Board of Sierra Leone yesterday held a consultative meeting with youth organisations, religious leaders, civil society groups, councilors, and local headmen in Freetown and the Western Area Rural as part of efforts to establish a Community Citizens Advisory Bureau.
In his opening remarks at the well-attended meeting, chairman for the event, Francis A. Gabbidon said that when the Legal Aid Board was commissioned, he had noted that the development was a game-changer in the context of legality and the rule of law in the country.
He said the meeting was another milestone in the history of Sierra Leone as the launch of a Community Citizens Advisory Bureau would be a novelty.
“When you look at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, you will see that some of the problems that aided the conflict in the country was the lack of access to justice. But between this short time, the Legal Aid Board is now addressing those problems by giving justice to the people,” he said.
He observed that not everybody could afford to pay a lawyer to represent him or her in court, adding that the Board was an important institution in the justice sector, while establishing a Citizens Advisory Bureau could help minimise overcrowding in the law courts.
He suggested that to decongest the court rooms, there was need for a bureau that could be able to settle minor disputes at community level instead of taking them to court.
Chairperson of the Legal Aid Board of Sierra Leone, Justice A. Showers, said the Board was a household name in the country and that since its establishment by an Act of Parliament in 2012, it had been providing services to indigent persons who could not afford to hire the services of a lawyer.
She said the Board had been organising legal sensitisations in places like Brookfield community, Dwarzack, Sumaila Town and its environs, Calaba Town and other communities in Freetown, adding that plans were underway to undertake similar legal sensitisations across the country.
She said they were grateful to sport betting company Mercury International for financial support to the Legal Aid Board to embark on community outreach programmes.
Justice Showers said they now work collaboratively with the Sierra Leone Police Force, Army, and Correctional Centre to achieve their aims and objectives.
Also, Mayor of Freetown City Council, Franklyn Bode Gibson said the meeting marked another milestone, especially as the country was striving towards a fair legal system that would give people maximum confidence.
He said the Citizens Advisory Bureau was important because councilors and headmen could be given paralegal training and acquire knowledge on how to deal with dispute between residents in their respective communities. He added that the Bureau would help the growth of democracy in the country.
Head of Peace and Conflict Department at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, Memunatu Pratt asserted that in the past months in-house settlement of disputes have increased and that one way the Legal Aid Board could achieve their aim was by addressing the root causes of those problems, thus the launch of the Citizens Advisory Bureau was significant.
While reading the keynote address of the Chief Justice of Sierra Leone, Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Monfred Sesay noted that the cost of litigation in the country was not cheap, as it cost money and time for litigants to pursue justice in court, adding that lots of matters have been in court for very long period of time as a result.
He said a lot of matters, including robbery with aggravation and murder, had been delayed in court due to lack of legal representation for accused persons.
He said the setting-up of Community Citizens Advisory Bureau was important and that the judiciary would give its fullest support to the initiative.