The subject of Access to Justice is very important in any Human Rights discourse related to the empowerment of marginalised and Vulnerable people as it is pivotal for their protection, guaranteeing their dignity and well-being.
Proper and accessible justice systems will avail tools that are important for widening the bottlenecks that lead to marginalisation. Legal Aid is one of such tools.
The Kitega Community Centre is a registered legal aid service Provider with a team of 3 lawyers that run it.
With the integration of the legal aid ministry in its activities, the approach of the Centre has since changed from a mere giving of alms to vulnerable and marginalised persons to actually empowering them through access to justice systems with the view of helping them achieve their full potential by overcoming their social and economic stiflers.
Over the past 18 months, Kitega Community Centre has reached out to communities with the proactive approach of empowering the marginalised through legal aid. Regulation 21 of the Advocates (Legal Aid to Indigent Persons), 2007provides for the forms of legal aid to include Representation in courts of law, mediation, Conciliation, Legal Advice and counselling
Through the 26 legal representations for bail, the 15 successful sessions of conciliation, the counselling and the mediations we are convinced that legal aid is one of the most potent tools of bridging the gaps that hinder the marginalized from achieving their full potential. 85percent of the population is termed indigent because they are unable to meet costs of professional legal services. This raises the fear of widening the scope of marginalized persons if nothing is done about it.
This is a call to support the work of the legal aid ministry so that more communities are served and empowered.
Together, let’s make it happen