Access to Justice in East Africa

Need

In East Africa, basic legal rights are bought and not accessible for all. Many people languish in prison for years, unaware of the charge and never tried, children live on the streets because their fathers have left and provide no support, widows are forced into extreme poverty because their husband's family have seized their homes. The laws exist to protect the poor and vulnerable but are often not followed.

Solution

CLEAR will provide:
- legal education workshops within prisons, advising prisoners (pre-trial) of the court process, their rights and responsibilities;
- legal education workshops within communities on issues including child rights, inheritance and family;
- legal representation (including pre-trial detention, child maintenance and land issues)

A grass-roots organisation, CLEAR recruits local lawyers, and last year helped over 105,000 people.

Aim 1

To provide pre-trial prisoners with the ability to represent themselves within their case

Activities

» Run fortnightly legal education workshops within 12 prisons

What success will look like

Success will be running over 20 legal education seminars in each of the prisons, observing who has been released and hearing from prisoners, and their colleagues.

---

Aim 2

To provide better access to information and civil legal rights

Activities

» Run fortnightly legal education workshops within community settings (including schools, churches and local gatherings)
» Run regular radio slots on a variety of legal issues

What success will look like

Success will be running over 50 legal education seminars, and 50 radio shows.

---

Aim 3

To provide free legal representation to 1000 people

Activities

» Identify clients from regular prison visits, who are most in need
» Provide legal assistance to clients who come into a CLEAR office requesting advice
» Engage members of the local Christian Lawyers Fellowships (KCLF, UCLF and LOH) to provide pro bono (free) legal assistance

What success will look like

Success will be representing 1000 people, tracking this through CLEAR offices

---

Impact

The project will reduce length of time on remand for prisoners, empower and protect vulnerable people especially children and women, and raise greater awareness across society of legal rights and responsibilities. This will be demonstrated by the number of people assisted, and case outcomes.

Risk

There is a risk that access to the prison could be restricted, however local CLEAR advocates have fostered close links with the relevant government departments and local prison warders to ensure this access continues. As a local organisation, CLEAR has built strong relationships with government, NGOs and local lawyers to provide this necessary service.

Reporting

Funders of this project will receive a two monthly email update on the project highlighting recent successes, upcoming activities and any necessary changes that have been made. It will also include a client story and prayer points.

Budget - Project Cost: £36,000

	Amount	Heading	Description
	£6,000	Legal Education	holding legal education workshops within prisons, local communities and on the radio
	£25,000	Legal Representation	Providing legal advice and representation pro bono to clients
	£5,000	Core Office costs / Training	Coordination and training of volunteer lawyers and legal interns, research and office admin

Location

CLEAR has offices across Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, often in areas where they are the sole provider of legal representation.

Beneficiaries

In countries where sadly justice is often bought, not accessed, many local people cannot afford legal representation, even when they have done nothing wrong or have a clear case. CLEAR helps anyone who needs legal assistance but lacks the means to access it.