Photo: Members of CLS

Centre for Legal Support to provide pro bono legal aid

By Ousman A. Marong

Sheriff Kumba Jobe, chairman of Centre for Legal Support (CLS) has revealed his organization’s plan to offer pro bono legal assistance and representation to the underserved and persons with limited means charged with criminal offenses.

According to him, these include victims of human rights violations in cases before the national courts.

He said they initiate and undertake public interest litigation on human rights and constitutional matters before the High Court and Supreme Court of The Gambia.

Jobe explained that they also engage incapacity building workshops and community awareness creation with the prime objectives to encourage citizens’ participation in the democratization process, public debates on national issues, freedom of expression and divergence while pushing human rights and good governance agenda forward.

“We feel your plights and the difficulties you are facing; and with the advent of the new political dispensation, we are committed to contributing our quota in responding to your legal needs. This has motivated us, as lawyers to come together to add value to the lives and rights of every Gambian particularly the underserved and people with limited means such as women, children, and youth,” he said.

CLS is a network of public interest lawyers, civil society organization and was established in 2018 as a non-governmental legal entity.

Its establishment was inspired by the advent of the new dispensation in The Gambia which ushered in high prospects for the respect for human rights and freedom, observance of rule of law and advancement of good governance; and as well, the government commitments to providing accountability and redress for victims of the mass human rights atrocities perpetrated by the former regime.

“Our presence here today is a clear manifestation that the Gambia has changed for better because a few years back this was not possible at all. Thus, as citizens, we must demand greater respect for our fundamental human rights and freedom and unless we insist on our rights and livelihood, our democratic gains would be meaningless,” he asserted.

He made the pronouncement at the mile ll Central prison, Banjul in his keynote at a workshop with the inmates.

Sheriff Kumba Jobe said it is their aspiration to further their progress to reaching some of their goals through projects such as this one they are implementing today.

He noted that the project is on transitional justice targeting prison inmates, high school students and local communities, in order to raise their awareness of transitional justice in The Gambia.

He further said the purpose of the workshop among other things are to avail inmates an opportunity to understand and participate in the transitional justice processes in The Gambia focusing on specific thematic areas and also gauge their inputs in the processes to make it better and effective for everyone.

On his part, Supt Modou Lamin Ceesay of the Prison Service Department (PSD) hailed CLS in for choosing to partner with PSD.

He lauded the Ministry of Interior in granting them the permission to engage in the activity.

“We want to thank the organizers (Centre for Legal Support) for remembering us in their activities as it gives us the opportunity to participate in the Transitional Justice Process (TJP) in the country,” he commended.

He described his department’s role in the transitional justice in the country as very critical, adding that there cannot be any meaningful transitional justice without the involvement of the Prison department.

He challenged the participants to take advantage of discussions, saying it would serve as an avenue for their voices and concerns to be heard.