13 Jan 2013

Government's introduction of legal aid will help people who could not afford legal fees, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso has said.

Ms Tshireletso, who is also Mahalapye East MP, said this during a series of kgotla meetings in Dovedale, Mmaphashalala and Boseja onThursday.

“The legal aid project was piloted in Gaborone and Francistown last year with the aim of aiding Batswana who are not financially able to pay for the legal fees,” she said. 

She noted that some people had already benefited from the initiative, adding that assistance could be sought through the office of the district commissioner.

Ms Tshireletso said there were many instances where some people gave up when threatened with lawyers, adding that some people ended up in prisons for offences they did not commit because they could not afford legal representation.

She also noted that some unmarried women were deprived of their goods and property when their partners died due to some in-laws who took everything from them.

“Those days of feeling hopeless, folding your arms with nothing to do because one has got money for lawyers are over, as the government has heard your cries,” she said.

Residents applauded the government for the initiative. Ms Kelebogile Christopher, a resident of Mmaphashalala, said many had lost their property at the expense of those with financial muscle.