Mombasa activities Jan-Feb 09

There has been a lot happening in the Mombasa office in the first part of this year as we have continued to offer pro bono legal services to as many of those in need as possible. We are thankful to God that we have been able to reach out to many who would otherwise be unable to access justice. We are also grateful that we have such good relationships with court and prison officials which is essential in enabling us to reach those who need our help.

Below is a summary of our activity in our various areas of work:

Family cases
We have a regular stream of, mainly female, clients attending our offices to seek advice and help in securing maintenance and custody for their children following separation or divorce. We are able to assist these clients by, in the first place, organising negotiations where we try to help the parties to reach an amicable out-of-court agreement and, where this fails due to non-attendance of the negotiation or breach of the agreement, we are able to draft the documents necessary to file a petition for maintenance and custody in the court. Our assistance extends to serving the documents, advising on self representation at the court stage and even paying filing fees where this is necessary. We are then able to assist the clients with further action and advice if a court order is not complied with. This aspect of our work is vital in the community as there is no other organisation doing the same work in the area and, without our help, many clients can find themselves in desperate situations struggling to raise their children after their husband has abandoned them, often following a relationship involving violence and abuse.

Children’s cases
Our resident advocate continues to make representation in children’s matters a priority. These juveniles are in no position to be able to represent themselves effectively in court so her assistance is crucial in affording them access to justice.

Legal education
Legal education is an important aspect of the work in Mombasa and takes place at our offices, where we have regular legal education classes, and within the community. We have recently partnered with the Mtongwe Community Initiative to offer paralegal training to representatives of Community Based Organisations working in the deprived area of Mtongwe. We met with twelve women representing a range of organisations working to improve the welfare of women and children in the area. All were enthusiastic about learning legal skills and acquiring legal knowledge so that they can be better placed to deal with issues such as child abuse and domestic violence, as well as matters such as inheritance and succession, within their communities. Through this work we can effectively spread legal awareness and thereby improve access to justice amongst some of the poorest members of the community.

Prison work
Our team continues to enjoy a good relationship with the authorities at Shimo La Tewa Prison where we visit weekly to conduct legal education seminars and talk to prisoners about their cases, offering advice and, where necessary, representation. The legal education seminars always involve a significant amount of time given over to taking questions so that individual concerns can be addressed and we can ensure that we are meeting the specific needs of those who are present.
Over the last couple of months we have been concentrating on interviewing juvenile remandees as these are the least capable of defending themselves and the most in need of personal advice.

Over the coming weeks we hope to visit some prisons which are slightly further afield, again offering legal education and advice to the prisoners.