By Lovemore Khomo
Legal Aid Bureau said it has registered major success in access to justice for the poor and the marginalized members of the public, following a record of over 23,000 cases within nine years after being delinked from Ministry of Justice.
In 2015, the bureau was delinked from the parent ministry following enactment of Legal Aid Act intended to provide legal aid services to persons who cannot afford private legal services in the country.
Director for Malawi Legal Aid Bureau Trouble Kalua explained that although they do not have data of completed cases since then, but they are a lot as witnessed through various media platforms.
He pointed out that the last nine years, the Bureau has grown significantly in size and has taken significant strides toward ensuring access to justice for the poor and the marginalized members of the public.
“Among other notable accomplishments, the Bureau has expanded its operations from three regional offices in 2015 to four regional offices in Blantyre (South), Zomba (East), Lilongwe (Center), and Mzuzu (North) as well as seventeen (17) district legal aid offices Nsanje, Mulanje, Mwanza, Thyolo(south), Mangochi, Machinga, Phalombe, Balaka (east), Nkhotakota, Mchinji, Salima, Dedza, Kasungu, Dowa (center), Karonga, Chitipa and Mzimba (north).” He elaborated.
Kalua also revealed plans to open four additional district offices in Chikwawa, Ntchisi, Chiradzulu and Nkhatabay during the coming financial year to support people who need their services in these areas.
The Bureau has undertaken massive recruitment exercises over the years, growing from a total of 32 employees in 2015 to 221 employees in 2024 in all departments thereby being able to handle a significantly increased volume of work. The current staff compliment includes 48 lawyers and 57 paralegals.
“Since 2019 we have been implementing the Pro Bono Scheme on behalf of the Malawi Law Society. Under this scheme, members of the general public who could otherwise not afford a private lawyer have the opportunity to access the services of a private lawyer at no extra cost.” He added.
In 2023, the office together with the Malawi Law Society jointly launched a Nationwide Pro Bono Legal Services Scheme which ensures free legal service provision by members of the Malawi Law Society and takes the service further to local communities.
The Legal Aid Bureau Chief installed toll-free telephones in 32 police stations across the country to offer opportunities to people who have been arrested to access legal aid services for free and in August 2021 switched from the old paper-based case management system to an Electronic Case Management System which has greatly improved the efficiency of the provision of legal aid services in Malawi.
