- The project is aimed at ensuring the constitutional right to legal aid is not violated.
- There will be a lawyer or a paralegal officer available to answer the toll-free number.
Image: FILE
Prisoners will soon access lawyers and counselling services via a toll-free number.
The project, which is to be rolled out by National Legal Aid Service, is aimed at ensuring the constitutional right to legal aid is not violated even as the country grapples with Covid-19.
The chair of the board, judge Mumbi Ngugi, made the revelations on Tuesday during a webinar to discuss the effects of Covid-19 on legal aid and access to justice.
The judge who was a panelist in a discussion hosted by ICJ Kenya said that the toll-free number would be put in place in the next 10 to 14 days.
There will be a lawyer or a paralegal officer available to answer the toll-free number and offer legal advice to prisoners who need it.
A counsellor will be on standby to offer services to prisoners or even those that are about to be released from remand and need psychological preparation.
The board is also looking to establish a proper network with prisoners and remandees to give them the information they need.
The board is working with advocates to scale-up pro bono services to ensure those who require representation in court get it.
Judge Ngugi said although the idea of providing legal aid to inmates was important, it had not been prioritised in the country.
She challenged the state to take its duty of providing legal aid to Kenyans seriously and consider adequately funding the board to enable it realise its mandate.
“Many citizens are poor and cannot afford legal representation, so that leads them to stay in custody and this is an opportunity to advance the organisations that help with legal aid. The state needs to re-examine the place of national legal aid services and offer help,” the judge said.
Ngugi noted Coivd-19 had exposed shortcomings in different sectors.
It was high time the country realised that legal aid was a constitutional right that should be given the attention and funding it requires, she said.
Kituo cha Sheria’s Valeria Angawa narrated the success stories of paralegal services offered by inmates to their colleagues.
Kituo cha Sheria trains inmates as paralegals to enable them to help other inmates with legal advice and drafting of court papers.
"As we wait for the situation to improve, our paralegals are doing a tremendous job. They are also inmates and they offer legal advice so it works well with social distancing," she said.
Another panelist Hamisi Mzari said that Africa Prison Project is currently running 10 legal clinics in prisons offering services to inmates free of charge.
Edited by Henry Makori