04 Jul 2017

Legal Aid Botswana mandated to take legal services to the needy through education, advice and representation will now reach Shakawe and other villages in the Okavango sub-region.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting recently, regional Legal Aid lawyer Ms Tebogo Sethibe said although they did not have a precise office in Shakawe in the mean time, they were however dedicated to reach out to the residents often as an effort to bring services nearer home.

She said their office was as far as Maun, Francistown, Gaborone and others which was costly and at some point demoralised people to reach and now their frequent visits would be fruitful to dwellers.

However Ms Sethibe explained to residents that they were salaried legal practitioners employed by their office to provide legal services such as legal advice, legal representation in the magistrate courts, high court just to mention a few and and englighten the public on legal education and their rights and responsibilities.

She said every Motswana who could not afford a lawyer together with employed people who could not afford looking at their monthly household resources such as salary/wages, rent/investments, maintenance/grants received, commission/bonuses and others were considered.

She further elaborated that they covered family law like divorce, land, labour law such as salary problems and work contracts, contract laws, damages and many other matters including alternative dispute resolution.

However Ms Sethibe noted that criminal trials except for persons below 18, adultery, preliminary industrial representation, maintenance claims except where the opposing party is legally represented, money claims covered by small claims court and customary court representation were not covered by their services.

However she advised people to use the opportunity and bring forward their legal problems for assistance.

She said these were important services brought nearer home to be used to protect their rights as well as understanding them.

Meanwhile residents applauded the education and advice and noted that people or service providers (employers) had been violating their rights because they had no shoulder to cry and the abuse escalated.

They said in was now a tradition for contractors to hire them and run away with their money leaving them unpaid, saying some were not aware of labour laws while those who knew failed to trace them.

However they urged the legal aid office to help in such cases to protect rights as well as bringing justice to the poor.  ENDS