Executive Director of Legal Aid Board (LAB), Fatmata Claire Carlton-Hanciles has last Friday told this medium that since the establishment of the institution, they have provided legal service for over 400, 000 Sierra Leoneans who have encountered conflicts with the law.
“We have provided legal service to over 400, 000 Sierra Leoneans including women and children who have come in conflict with the law. We have become a household name in Sierra Leone because people know us for our integrity and if they come to our office, we will fight for them, so we thank God because we have been able to solve so many problems for the society to be peaceful,” she said.
She said Legal Aid Board was established in 2015 by the country’s Legal Aid Act and the main purpose of the board is to provide justice services to poor and marginalized people in Sierra Leone, who otherwise cannot afford legal services for themselves.
Madam Hanciles said their mission is to provide quality, accessible, credible and affordable legal aid services for the poor including Para legal services.
She maintained that they are providing lawyers for those that are in prison both male and female who have come in conflict with law, and they are now in 29 locations across the country, they have representatives at chiefdom level and they are given legal education to their clients.
She continued that over the years they have been able to solve community dispute among land owners, so when they are talking about justice system in Sierra Leone, Legal Aid Board is a very integral part because they are carrying the criminal calendar for criminal matters and they are also handling civil matters.
Legal Aid Board Executive Director said as part of their work, they are reducing the work of the court by educating people about their rights and responsibilities and to make sure that there are peaceful and cohesive societies.
She continued that they are one of the leading institutions under the ‘New Direction’ that the United Nations (UN) is pleased with because they helped to achieve access to justice under Sustainable Development Goal 16. She said they are working in collaboration with State institutions like Ministry of Gender, Rainbow Centre, police, Correctional Centre among others, she added that it is important for any country to have Legal Aid Board that is not receiving money from clients if they want to maintain the peace of that country.
Madam Carlton-Hanciles said they are handling all kind of crimes in the country because in prison they do not choose those to be represented, but rather they provide legal service for everyone in the country, so they have been able to provide legal service for crimes like murder, larceny, robbery with aggravation, sexual and domestic violence among others.
“According to our data, the largest offence committed by youth are larceny (theft) followed by sexual offenses, so we are using this opportunity to advise parents to train their children in good way if they want their children to stay away from crimes that will take them to prison,” she said.
