In a society where justice is hard to come by due to some parties’ indigent status, the Legal Aid Clinic supports their efforts to seek justice.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, September 26, 2024/The Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA) has reopened its Legal Aid Clinic in Montserrado County to ensure speedy dispensation of justice.
The Legal Clinic is an LNBA establishment that provides free legal services for party litigants who cannot afford legal fees.
The project was temporarily suspended after its major donors, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Legal Professional Development and Anti-Corruption Program in Liberia (LPACE), ended their operations in the country.
LNBA President Sylvester D. Rennie, while announcing the reopening of the legal clinic, said the funding was the result of intense discussion with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
“After considering our plan, the UNDP released to us over US$121,000 for the opening of only the clinic in Montserrado County,” Rennie said during the training of lawyers and caseworkers who will work with the clinic.
According to Rennie, the funding is only for one year. “Within one year, we are going to release at least 200 pretrial detainees,” Rennie disclosed.
The LNBA is implementing the Legal Aid Clinic in partnership with a UNDP project that provides pro-bono legal services to the uninsured.
“If we are successful with the Montserrado County project, we will be able to extend the project to other counties where we have the clinics,” Rennie added.
In his interjection, the LNBA’s secretary General, Cllr. Bornor M. Varmah cautioned his colleagues about their accountability to the project.
“UNDP is very concerned about accountability, and we are to ensure that their money is used for the project. After that, we can ask for an extension to other counties,” Cllr. Varmah stressed accountability for the project.
