Mombasa County Governor, Ali Hassan Joho, on Wednesday, March 11, launched Kenya's first County Legal Aid Unit.
Speaking at the colourful event to mark the opening of what is a first-of-its-kind office, the governor revealed that he pushed for the completion of the project to ensure even the underprivileged had access to legal aid services.
The Governor thanked Chief Justice David Maraga and the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji for partnering with him in the unique project.
"We set the pace again by officially launching our County Legal Aid Unit, the first in the Republic of Kenya. The establishment of this unit shows our commitment to cascade Legal Aid Services to the grassroots in the true spirit of devolution," his statement reads in part.
The Governor also oversaw the graduation of several county officers who had undergone legal and human rights training.
"We have also witnessed the graduation of inspectorate officers who underwent special training on Law & Human Rights,
"The training has empowered these officers with crucial skills which will improve efficiency and responsiveness of our enforcement unit," the Mombasa governor announced.
He added that the project was engineered to not only avail legal help to county residents but to ensure a gradual drop in crime in the county.
"With increased legal awareness through this Legal Aid Unit and a more exposed inspectorate unit, we expect a big decline in lawlessness in Mombasa," he stated.
Joho also listed the Mombasa Law Society, the European Union (EU), the Kingdom of Netherlands, Amkeni-UNDP and the Human Rights Agenda (HURIA) as the key players in the project.
