27 Feb 2014

Principal Legal Aid counsel, Ms Taboka Dambe recently stated that the newly introduced Legal Aid Botswana was set up to avail legal services to underprivileged members of the community. 

When making a presentation to the North East District Council (NEDC) full council meeting on February 26, Ms Dambe explained that the legal aid department operated under the Attorney General’s office with a mandate to provide legal services to those Batswana who did not have the means to access them.

“The department offers legal advice and lawyers to represent litigants in court. The services cover areas like family law, land issues, contractual claims, wills and estates as well as labor,” she said.

Ms Dambe further explained that while the legal aid department was specifically set up to assist people without the means to pay for legal services, they were equally concerned about cases involving children. She said the department would work hard to ensure that justice is delivered in cases involving children.

She said they will address cases where children were dispossessed of their property after the death of their parents. She however hastened to explain that there are some legal matters that are not covered due to various factors such as capacity constraints.

These include criminal trials, money claims, defamation and marriage wrecking claims. In addition, Ms Dambe explained that Legal Aid Botswana does not cover customary court cases as it is not permissible under customary law for lawyers to appear before such courts. 

On the issue of eligibility to benefit from legal aid, Ms Dambe said only citizens will be assisted, and the department must be satisfied that the case at hand has reasonable prospects of success.

“This is done to ensure the prudent use of funds. It will be of no benefit for us to spend money on cases only for them to be dismissed. We will thoroughly assess those who seek our assistance. We will use a means test to establish that indeed you can’t afford a lawyer,” she said.

The means test entailed looking into among others an individual’s  sources of income, assets as well as deductions from their monthly pay. Ms Dambe explained that those who were graded under zero would be assisted while those scaled above zero will not be eligible.

She added that the department is currently considering having those who were graded above zero pay a nominal fee to access services. Commenting on the presentation, Councilor Farai Bonyongo of Nlapkhwane appealed to the department to ensure that every eligible Motswana benefits from legal aid.

Councilor for Mosojane, Mr Saul Duha appealed to the legal aid department to deliver on their promises, saying in most cases presentations on services are flawless and attractive, while implementation is often problematic.

NEDC Deputy Chairperson Ms Florence Mpetsane hailed the legal aid department for taking up issues affecting children. She urged the department to work hand in hand with social workers to make the project a success.

However, Cllr Mpetsane expressed concerns about the standards set for eligibility, saying there is no need to cast aside those who are not necessarily living in poverty because situations requiring legal services do not only affect the least privileged members of society. ENDS