16 Jul 2020

Granting of legal aid in cases of claims for damages for adultery is excluded under regulation 13 (d) of the Legal Aid Regulations.

Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse, said this on behalf of the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security at the ongoing Ntlo-Ya-Dikgosi meeting.The minister explained that effectively, no party participating in any proceedings for damages for adultery was entitled to legal aid.

“The exclusions are a result of the need for Legal Aid Botswana to manage its limited resources to focus on identified critical priority areas.  

However, the exclusions are not permanent,” he said.

Mr Autlwetse said funds permitting, Legal Aid Botswana would in the future revise all exclusions with the objective to expand legal aid scope.

His response followed a question on whether the ministry would consider including home-wrecking cases among those covered by the Government Legal Aid Lawyers since most of these cases were lost due to lack of representation.  ENDS