Crime Si Poa, under its Access to Justice Program today concluded a two-week (13th to 24th June) paralegal training in Nairobi West Prison that consisted of 40 inmates, both those on remand and convicted persons.
The group was taken through the workings of the criminal justice system which included the trial process, essentials of a fair trial, law of evidence, appeals, and reviews among others, to help them provide better arguments for their cases and get better rulings.
Most inmates in Kenya do not have access to proper legal representation which negatively affects their cases resulting in harsh rulings or worst-case scenario wrongful convictions.
According to Sylvia Morwabe, Program Manager, Access to Justice, the training will empower the inmates with legal knowledge and enable them to effectively follow their cases as they undergo trial.
“The paralegal training, we have been conducting for the last 2 weeks at the Nairobi West Prison in partnership with Strathmore University Law Clinic will help inmates have a fair trial and better access to justice,” said Sylvia.
This training has been made possible by our partners AIG, Global Fund for Children, The Kenya Prisons Service, and the National Paralegal Society of Kenya.
“Thousands of innocent people who have gone through the prison system, have been discharged thanks to programs like this,” said Derrick a lawyer from Strathmore University Law Clinic as he encouraged the inmates to stay positive during the training.
Derrick, further stated that the training equips the inmates with the courage to appear before the court and arms them with the possible answers to arguments likely to be raised in court by the lawyers from the Director of Public Prosecutions Office.
Kalonzo a warden at Nairobi West Prison expressed the importance of paralegal training in equipping the inmates on how to handle the court process.
“From this training, I believe many of the inmates will learn how to answer questions and successfully represent themselves in court,” he said.
Nairobi West is the first prison we work in to benefit from paralegal training. Our goal is to reach 10 prisons and equip them with the much-needed knowledge and skills.