Legal Aid Bureau opens branch in Chitipa District

Legal Aid Bureau has opened a branch in Chitipa District to enable people access justice easily.

The development follows complaints that people used to travel to Mzuzu to access the bureau’s legal services.

According to a statement the bureau issued on Saturday, the office will be located in the district’s Water Department offices.

In an interview, the bureau’s director Masauko Chamkakala said they want people to access their services easily.

“We want to ensure that rural communities are able to access justice easily and in return save the hard-earned money they spend on transport to regional offices [Mzuzu] to access our services,” he said.

In a separate interview, Chitipa Civil Society OrganisationsNetwork chairperson Sydney Simwaka said the development will help the underprivileged who could not afford to hire private lawyers to get legal assistance.

“The long distance to Mzuzu hindered the people who could not afford transport and accommodation expenses to get the bureau’s services,” he said.

Moses Mwakisalu, a resident said people were struggling to get justice in the district due to high legal fees.

“Private legal representation is expensive for ordinary people. So, the bureau is welcome,” he said.

Legal Aid Bureau on January 18 opened new branches in eight districts, namely Chitipa, Mzimba, Dedza, Salima, Kasungu, Mwanza, Nsanje and Machinga to ease justice accessibility for the underprivileged people.

In January last year, the bureau opened five offices in Karonga, Mchinji, Nkhotakota, Mangochi and Mulanje.