OUR MAIN ACTIVITIES
These include but not limited to the following:
- Legal Aid Services (Advice and Representation)
We offer legal advice and representation through our paralegals and advocates. Our well-trained paralegals offer this advice at the legal aid clinics that we hold regularly, especially at the grassroots level. One is only required to either: attend a clinic, visit the office, make a call, or send a message [short message (sms) or WhatsApp]. On the other hand, we also work in collaboration with a number of advocates who provide legal representation, either on pro bono or subsidised basis for the most vulnerable and marginalised.
- Public Interest Litigation
We litigate matters of public interest and law reforms on a pro bono basis, especially when it is in the public interest that such laws or policies be amended. Thus, we use the courts as a means to effect change.
- Public participation
We Organise public participation where matters of public interest are involved; for example, having a discussion on newly introduced government policies. We take advantage of these forums to deeply delve into Articles 10 and 232 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, thus inculcating national values, principles of governance, and principles of public service in the people.
- Promoting Alternative Justice System (AJS)
We regularly organise training workshops for the police, chiefs, assistant chiefs, village elders, religious leaders, and social group leaders from NGOs and CBOs on what human rights entail. In addition, we take this team through the rights of any person who is: arrested, accused or detained so that they may always be handled with dignity as envisioned in Chapter four of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.
- Human Rights Practices
The persons named in (iii) above are also trained on the meaning of Alternative Justice System (AJS) plus the importance of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and where and how AJS is applied so as to promote Restorative Justice rather than Retributive Justice, as ADR is not adversarial. AJS will significantly promote, preserve, and protect the marginalised and vulnerable groups’ fundamental human rights and access to justice because a majority of them cannot afford legal fees. Thus, Mediation is the way to go for some civil cases.
- Stakeholders Engagement
- National and County Governments with respect to the citizen’s Right to the Highest Attainable Standards of Health;
In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, both at the national and county levels, we train Community Health Workers (CHW) and the Community Health Volunteers (CHV) on the legal rights of patients with a view of ensuring that they provide quality health care to all persons, with special emphasis on the HIV/AIDs patients and persons with chronic diseases.
We also partner with the police and medical professionals (doctors & nurses) from both National and County governments, training them on how to handle victims of defilement, rape, and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) so that evidence is not tampered with, thus reducing chances of miscarriage of justice due to lack of concrete evidence.
In addition, we train the local communities on how to deal with rape and defilement cases, with specific emphasis on how the victims should handle themselves or should be handled in case of such an ordeal. Moreover, we attend to these victims and advise them on the specific steps to take immediately after the unfortunate incident so that justice may be served.
- Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and Self Help Groups (SHGs)
We partner with the two levels of government and Civil Society Organisations on the ground such as CBOs, SHGs, and other non-state actors to ensure that the citizens enjoy their Economic and Social Rights such as the right to Health, Education, Adequate Food and Clean Water, Clean, and Healthy Environment; For example, we ensure that: the funds meant for bursaries reach the poor children in schools and colleges; drugs from the government reach the hospitals and are utilised as intended; seeds, seedlings, and fertilizers reach the enlisted beneficiaries, in the declared quantities, at the grassroots.
- Community Legal Education Seminars and Workshops
We organise training workshops and seminars for teachers, parents and children with a view of enlightening them on their individual fundamental rights, especially the rights of children as captured in the Children Act, 2022 Laws of Kenya, and in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), so that the community may jealously guard them. We train the adults on how to spot signs of child abuse and the importance of promptly reporting such cases so that justice may be served without delay. The adults are also trained on self-representation, i.e. how to handle themselves in case of an arrest and how best to represent themselves in court if they cannot afford the services of an advocate or where the advocate has delayed to arrive.
- Legal Advice to remand prisoners and sentenced prisoners
Through collaboration with the relevant ministry, we visit different prisons in the country and conduct legal education seminars to train remand prisoners and sentenced prisoners. Through one-to-one consultations, we advise remand prisoners on how to prepare for court and the best way to conduct their case while in court. If the case is so serious and might lead to an unfavourable verdict, we refer it to one of the advocates that we work in collaboration with. He/she then takes the case on a pro bono basis. For the case of those who are already serving their sentence but from the discussion with the prisoner it is revealed that there seemed to have been miscarriage of justice, we refer such cases to our advocates for appeal if the probability of success is high.
- National Moot Court & Debate Competitions
We try our level best to organise at least one Moot Court or Debate Competition every year themed around “The importance of adhering to the Rule of Law and the protection of Human Rights”. We bring on board Law Schools from various universities across the country with a view of:
- Inculcating the culture of offering Legal Aid, especially to the indigent members of society, into the law students early enough so that they may view this as their responsibility once they graduate as lawyers/advocates.
- Enlightening them on their roles in advocating for matters of public interest, especially those touching on laws and policies that ought to be amended or introduced.
- National Legal Aid Conference
We strive to annually organise and host a National Legal Aid Conference, bringing on board the major stakeholders-both locally and internationally, with a view of comparing notes on the gains made thus far with regard to the protection and advancement of fundamental human rights of all the target groups and the role legal aid services offered have played in this space/arena in mitigating the negative practices.