malawi: Energising the criminal justice system

Legal aid in Africa exists in name only in most countries. Prisons across the continent are congested with high remand populations. The few with the means to retain a lawyer may get bail or a prompt trial, but most suffer unseen and unnoticed by a system that is itself under-resourced and over-stretched. The situation in Malawi is no different. In May 2000, Penal Reform International (PRI) proposed a pilot paralegal scheme to provide legal aid to prisoners. After two years of operation, more than 550 paralegal aid clinics have been held, reaching over 10 000 prisoners.