Maula Prison Camp Court - Bringing Access to Justice to the Accused

On 13 May 2013, Irish Rule of Law International (IRLI) facilitated the first ‘camp court’ of the year in Maula Adult Prison, Lilongwe. A ‘camp court’ is essentially a fully functioning court session which is located within the physical grounds of the prison with a view to bringing justice to the accused persons who are being held in pre-trial detention. Facilitating these court hearings is a key project objective for IRLI, as the regular court system suffers from a lack of resources and cannot process the cases of accused persons in a timely fashion. Camp Courts therefore serve to expedite the justice process by giving remandees access to justice, many of whom are being held in illegal detention as their remand periods have elapsed. Like an ordinary formal court setting, the key stakeholders were present on the day, including the magistrate, court clerk, social and community officer, the prosecutor, paralegals and the accused.

Prior to the court hearing, newly joined IRLI Programme lawyers Jane O’Connell and Paul Bradfield liaised with the Social and Community Officer to select and screen suitable remand candidates for the camp court, with this particular session targeting those charged with minor offences who wished to apply for bail. On the morning of the hearing, the remandees were sensitised in legal literacy led by a PASI (Paralegal Advisory Service Institute) paralegal. They were informed about the purpose of the hearing, how the process would run and what the legal and practical significance was of applying for and receiving bail.

During the hearing, a total of twelve remandees came before the magistrate, the majority of whom were charged with theft-related offences. Of these twelve, seven were released on bail, three who had already been convicted were each handed a suspended sentence of six months and two had charges dismissed as the accused persons had agreed to pay compensation to the victim in each particular case. All twelve were released on the same day. In addition, and as a result of IRLI’s intervention during the screening phase, a further ten remandees have experienced progress in their case. Some had already been taken to court, some had been released from prison and others had a date set for a trial court.  In total, twenty-two remandees experienced access to justice and due process through the holding of this one camp court by IRLI.

Of particular note during the hearings was the visibly engaged demeanor and impressive level of interaction witnessed on the part of the remandees. With the majority of them being first-time offenders, prior to participating in the legal literacy session facilitated by IRLI, they had no prior knowledge or direct experience with the formal legal system. To consequently witness them display the confidence to constructively engage in dialogue with the magistrate regarding their personal circumstances and ability to adhere to bail conditions was extremely positive. Their gratitude at being given an opportunity to be heard and to be a part of the process was also evident in their words and expressions after the hearing as they left the ‘courtroom’.

As well as facilitating access to justice through the camp court process, IRLI seeks to trigger other positive ramifications for the Malawian criminal justice system. As a result of the remandees being released from pre-trial detention, it contributes to the alleviation of the serious congestion and overcrowding problems in Maula. The released remandees will also no longer be exposed to the serious health risks existing within the prison resulting from inadequate dietary intake, unsanitary conditions and poor healthcare facilities.

IRLI will continue to facilitate camp courts in Maula Adult Prison and Kachere Juvenile Prison in the coming months including targeting cases which involve more serious offences including homicide. 

Homicide Remandees meet the High Court

In an unprecendented move the High Court of Malawi in the country’s capital Lilongwe has moved into Maula prison to conduct homicide trials. Her Ladyship Justice Chombo together with Court staff, the Legal Aid Department and the Director of Public Prosecutions attended Maula on 5^th and 12^th December 2012 to start work on the backlog of homicide cases.

Justice Chombo attended an IRLI training session for Magistrates in November 2012. Upon hearing our experiences in Maula, where we are working with men who have been awaiting trial for up to 7 years on remand and have never been to Court, she suggested we work together to address these problems.

A situation had arisen in Malawi’s courts where most of the homicide cases that are brought to Court are from 2011 and 2012. Cases from 2006 were being overlooked. The men who had been charged in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and onward did not believe they would get to Court and had accepted their fate to remain in prison on remand. While the Legal Aid Department has a mandate to act for these people, the department is hugely over stretched and it only deals with cases sent forward by the DPP.  These ‘long term remandees’ were the forgotten people stuck in an overcrowded criminal justice system.

IRLI lawyers since August 2011, together with Legal Aid, has brought many bail applications to the High Court for those “forgotten prisoners”. All applications were successful and work was done to  locate sureties in order to secure the conditional release of these people. In some cases where a person had been waiting over 7 years and not once gone to court, the High Court granted bail and went as far as to say the State should prosecute the case within 6 months or the Court will consider them discharged.

It got to a point however where IRLI was bringing more bail applications for these old cases than there were trials being held to prosecute the cases. Due to the high volume of people on remand awaiting trial, Justice Chombo thought the best course of action would be to take the court to the prisoners and start work on this backlog.

The courts that are held in prison are known as camp courts. Camp courts are ad hoc courts held within the prisons to bring justice directly to pre-trial detainees. They run regularly as a initiative of PASI (Paralegal Advisory Service) for those who are charged with minor offences. A Magistrate and a prosecutor will attend the prison and conduct a court with PASI paralegals assisting those pre-trial detainees. It is unusual for a camp court to be held for homicide trials, but the exercise has been a success.

The EU Democratic Governance Programme, who funds alot of work within the Justice sector in Malawi, has agreed to fund the running of these courts so the back log of cases can be cleared.

As a result of these camp courts 20 cases were brought to Court and these 20 people have been released from pre-trial detention.  Some were convicted, some acquitted and others dicharged for want of prosecution. In one case where the State failed to obtain a medical report, the Court decided that he should be discharged after being held in pre-trial detention since October 2006. In another case the prisoner was sentenced to 4 years,which was backdated. As he had been in custody for 5 years, he had served his time and was released immediately.

This is a big step forward in Malawi where the High Court is actively working to ensure access to justice for all those in pre-trial detention.

By Ruth Dowling, Programme Lawyer with the Malawi Project

Legal Literacy in Kachare Boys Reformatory Centre

Kachere Boys Reformatory Centre was originally built in the 1960s as a remand centre.  While over the past two years significant strides have been made in improving conditions at Kachere, sleeping and sanitary conditions remain sub-standard. Kachere was originally built with a capacity for 70 persons.  While writing this post today I am saddened to say that there are 202 boys being held at Kachere, 33 are awaiting trial (16 of who are answering charges of homicide) with the remainder serving sentences for a variety of offences from simple theft to robbery and homicide.

Ruth facilitating training

The vast majority of the boys held at Kachere have never had access to a lawyer to assist them in their criminal case. Recently we have begun to work more closely with the paralegals from the Paralegal Advisory Institute Services (‘PASI’) who visit Kachere regularly to assist on aspects of the boys’ legal defence. In the past PASI have held legal literacy programmes in Kachere to educate the boys about court procedures, what they can expect when standing before a court and the steps that they should take to improve their access to justice.  Last week we facilitated a ‘legal literacy programme’ with PASI.  The programme was delivered by Mr Alex Nkunika, paralegal with PASI.  Mr Nkunika has many years of experience in delivering programmes of this nature with vulnerable youths.  His interaction with the boys was excellent.  The use of theatre to demonstrate the importance of accuracy in everything they say before a Magistrate or Judge was a clever way of imparting this important message.  Mr Nkunika was able to assure the boys that in the absence of a lawyer it is within their abilities to tell their ‘stories’,  clearly demonstrate the importance of telling the truth and show the importance of this in accessing justice in their case.

As a result of this intervention it is hoped that more boys will be empowered to advocate for their own rights and find the voice to demand access to justice!

By Ruth Dowling BL