The Faculty of Law Legal Aid Project (FOLLAP) will start its activities for this year on Friday, January 14. The project’s team are set to hold a legal aid clinic at the Kapkures Sub County offices in Nakuru Town West from 10 am.
This year the project aims at holding 12 of such clinics in different parts of Nakuru county where the project is being implemented.
Other key activities the project will hold this year include, 5 forums to sensitize women on the legal aid act, the human rights-based approach and on how to identify and report human rights violations.
The project will also hold a moot court competition for law students. This will happen in June and at least 40 students are expected to take part.
This will be the second time to hold such a competition after a successful one was held last under the theme of matrimonial property rights. Egerton law students emerged second in the competition.
The project will also do an induction and capacity building for law students to provide legal aid services. To this end at least two mentorship forums for students will be held as well as one essay competition for law students on emerging issues in access to justice.
This being an election year, the project will also focus on democracy and electoral issues by monitoring and preventing violence against women, before and during elections. At least 2 forums targeting women on electoral violence and gender-based violence (GBV) will be held.
The project will also train key actors in the criminal justice system to respond to GBV before and during elections. Those to be targeted on this will include the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the Police and the Judiciary.
The project will also hold workshops involving community leaders and alternative justice systems (AJS) champions in the county. This is in line with the AJS action plan and aims at supporting efforts in the county on the implementation of the AJS policy.
It is to be noted that Nakuru County has established a working committee that is to draft a county action plan on the implementation of the AJS policy in the county and FOLLAP is a key stakeholder in this process with two of its staff having been trained as AJS Champions. It also has representation in the county AJS working committee.
Florence Ngugi, Acting Chief Bahati Location in Nakuru North Sub County and one of FOLLAP’s key stakeholders says she expects a lot from FOLLAP this year.
“I am expecting FOLLAP to do more activities. Once cases are reporting I would like to see them followed up to the latter,” she says.
FOLLAP’s Project Manager Robert Mutembei says the team is up-to the challenge.
“This being an election year we shall have increased focus on human rights and governance. We shall have an ongoing conversation on emerging issues and their implication on enjoyment of rights guaranteed in the constitution and other legal instruments.”
