Pro bono, the Justice System and in-between

I recently volunteered at a legal outreach program organized by The Justice Foundation (JF). The foundation provides free legal services to needy persons and engages in educational campaigns and public interest litigation among others.

a child takes his morning shower in the market place where we set up

This particular event targeted free legal consultation at the people of La-Dadekotopon, a section of Accra (capital city of Ghana) which retains quite a bit of its native (some would say pre-modern) features though surrounded by fairly modern enterprises and situated along a major road that runs all the way from the port city of Tema, past the Fort Christiansborg Castle (the slave castle which used to be the seat of government) in Osu on the coast of the Atlantic, into what is known as old Accra. 

To get to the actual location of the event took some doing. Not quite 3 minutes off the road, I felt like I was driving through one big compound house; people crisscrossing from rooms on one side of the alley and making their way across the front of the vehicle right into other rooms on my other side!. Right in my path, was a middle aged woman busily fanning two big coal pots which carried large cauldrons bubbling with what looked like ... well I never really saw into the pots. 

Others just standing and chatting; looking at the tortoise-like approach of the vehicle with half interest and certainly little urge to move out of the way. It felt like the city was systematically and assuredly closing in on the indigenes whose defiant culture is deceptively clothed in modern garb of sorts - imported low cost clothing from foreign countries; cheap, second-hand gadgetry and high rise buildings on its borders. La- Manjaanor; it translates literally from the local dialect, “the market of the La township - that’s where I was headed. 

a local favorite, "banku" being prepared in the market

anxious moments before MCE arrived 

As tradition and courtesy would have it, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the locality was to open the event at 9am. Almost 2 hours late when he finally did show, the “honourable gentleman” did just that! Soon volunteers were grouped in clusters and receiving “clients” of different shades and colours. 

My group met an 80 year old woman first. She was being pestered at home by her young nephew who claimed she was a witch. Then came a young man who claimed he was badly injured (still showing physical scars and deformities) in an accident involving a vehicle belonging to a public institution 12 years back. Officials of the institution had promised him compensation which never came through. It was clear taking on the institution of uniformed men in a court action was not something he had even imagined. He saw the event as an opportunity for an intervention that would see him receive some compensation. Another emotionally distraught woman in her forties accompanied by her impatient younger brother believed she deserved a share of her father’s property and without articulating it, was seeking to challenge a will that had surfaced after the death of the father. Yet another middle aged woman claimed she was wrongly dismissed from her job in one of the major hotels in the metropolis and without opportunity to respond to her charges. And so it went, and similarly with other consulting groups. 

The event was very rewarding for me and the Justice Foundation must be commended for taking an important step in the bid to expand access to justice in Ghana. Beyond my thrill of firsthand experience of real people with real legal needs and expectations, the event rekindled my interest in access to justice generally. Having had initial anxieties about the community’s readiness to open up about their legal issues I was pleasantly surprised at the turnout and the interest and enthusiasm they showed in the program. I was also struck by how easily they shared their personal stories with us and wondered what the real motivation was. 

Could it be it was free; could it be they were more comfortable with a setting that offered a semblance of the traditional family gathering to resolve family squabbles where parties to a conflict have a voice of their own in the proceedings and can express themselves in their own language; or the fact that this was a non-confrontational consultation in the absence of the other parties to the matters raised, more like seeking legal advice before a decision to act one way or the other; was it the dread and frustration with agencies and officers within the justice system they alluded to that had kept some of them from pursuing their cases; maybe the lack of confidence exhibited by some who didn’t feel able to challenge anything;  ... or is it just ignorance,...of what? 

Ultimately, I guess the lessons from this event and how they could influence an improvement of the system of justice in operation remains the biggest achievement of the event.  More elsewhere.