The European Union (EU) on Wednesday, September 21, stepped up its legal support to Kenyans after pumping a further Ksh845 million aimed at benefitting Kenyans from poor backgrounds.
The fund is aimed at aiding legal assistance to individuals from vulnerable communities access justice.
Eligible individuals must have cases touching on succession battles, constitutional petitions, sexual offences, land challenges, eviction, children, and divorce.
National Legal Aid Services (NLAS) leader Chimweme Mangani noted that the money will come in handy since legal aid across the country has undergone numerous challenges.
The fund is also set to benefit the Programme for Legal Empowerment and Aid Delivery (PLEAD) which is a first of its kind in Sub-saharan Africa.
PLEAD is implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Kenya, National Commission for the Administration of Justice (NCAJ), Department of Justice (DoJ) and National Legal Aid Service (NLAS), supported by civil society and other judicial sector players.
How to Apply
For one to be eligible for a grant of legal aid, he /she has to make an application to the service by filling a form as prescribed under the Legal Aid (general) regulations 2020.
Advocates who also wish to offer their service as legal aid providers are also expected to apply using the same process.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, the service may grant partial legal aid to an aided person on the condition that he/she makes a financial contribution to the fund.
In 2018, the EU offered Kenya Ksh 4.2 billion towards universal access to justice in Kenya through the PLEAD program.
The National Legal Aid Service (NLAS) is an agency under the office of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice.
Legal aid is a human rights issue, and our aim is to provide practical, affordable, and effective legal awareness and a legal aid service delivery scheme that increases access to justice for all.
