28 Feb 2018

 The statutory mandate of Legal Aid Botswana does not extend to rendering services to persons with financial means, says Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Shaw Kgathi.
Minister Kgathi said in terms of Section 4 of the Legal Aid Act of 2013, the objectives of Legal Aid Botswana were to provide legal advice, legal representation and public education on legal matters to indigent persons.
He said victims of domestic violence were eligible for legal aid provided they satisfied the aid means test.

Such victims, he said, would usually be referred to the police in the first instance as the procedure does not always necessitate the engagement of an attorney.

“If it emerges that the opposing party is legally represented, an attorney will be appointed to assist the indigent citizen who is a victim of domestic violence,” said Mr Kgathi.
He said people living with disabilities were also eligible for legal aid if they were indigent.

He noted that all Legal Aid Botswana centres in Gaborone, Francistown, Maun and Tsabong were accessible to persons living with disabilities.

Minister Kgathi further said where persons living with disabilities were unable to access the centre, a special arrangement was made for the service to be made available to such persons.
Mr Kgathi also said indigent children in need of care were eligible for legal aid.

He added that “it is the responsibility of guardians or parents to facilitate legal assistance to children as part of their parental duty of support.”
He said it followed that the means test was applied to the guardians or parents where a child needed legal aid.

However, he said where the guardians or parents of a child were failing to fulfill their responsibility, the requirement might be waived.

The MP for Francistown East, Mr Buti Billy had asked the minister when Legal Aid Botswana would consider services to the following categories of vulnerable people irrespective of their financial status: victims of domestic violence; people living with disabilities, and children in need of care without assessing their guardians. ENDS