CHREAA Probono Program Reaches Out to 39 Homicide Inmates
Alex Nkula
The Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance’s (CHREAA) Pro bono program has in the calendar year 2011 facilitated and assisted 39 underprivileged and unrepresented Homicide inmates to process bail application with the High Court of Malawi.
CHREAA screened 39 Homicide inmates and out of these, 20 were granted bail by the High Court.
These were cases of inmates on remand and had their cases taking too long to be processed by the High Court of Malawi.
The 39 include the case of one Alex Nkula, accused of murder and spent 11 years in Chichiri Prison without his case being completed by the High Court of Malawi.
CHREAA promotes and protects human rights by assisting vulnerable and marginalized people in Malawi to access justice through civic education, advocacy, legal advice and assistance.
Most of these inmates were incarcerated at Chichiri Prison in Blantyre, Malawi.
The Pro bono program sees CHREAA work with prisons in identifying Homicide inmates whose cases are taking long to be heard and completed.
It identifies particularly under privileged Homicide inmates whose right to bail has not been exercised or have not had their cases heard by the high court. read more
Station Officer for Chichiri Prison Evance Katayika Chisi (back to Camera) explains to the British High Commission 's Kirk Hollingsworth (In Blue Tie) on Prison operation
Malawi’s prisoners have expressed grave concern that 63 years after the Universal Declaration of Human rights and 16 years after Malawi ratified the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Charter through the enactment of the 1995 Kwacha Conference Centre Republican Constitution, the wheels of justice in the country’s judicial system worryingly continue to drag at a snail’s pace.
The inmates also said that Malawi prisons are congested and have poor living and sanitation conditions, They said they lack of legal representation and that sometimes they are duped by unscrupulous lawyers who allegedly collect money from them and their relatives on the pretext of representing their cases.
The prisoners made the remarks on 9th December 2011 during a panel discussion organised by The
Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) to mark this year’s World Human Rights Day at Chichiri Prison in Blantyre Malawi Read more
CHREAA and Leitner Center Conduct Gender-Based Violence Clinic in Traditional Authority Machinjiri
From November 14 – 18, 2011, CHREAA paralegals and peer educators partnered with students and faculty from Fordham Law School’s Leitner Center for International Law and Justice in New York City to administer a mobile legal-aid clinic for survivors of domestic violence. Conducted in Chaweta Village and Chambwinja group village Chimbiya in Traditional Authority Machinjiri in Blantyre District, the clinic provided direct legal assistance to more than 25 clients. In addition, the CHREAA/Leitner team conducted Know-Your-Rights presentations on Malawi’s Domestic Violence Act for hundreds of community members and created and distributed illustrative brochures about domestic violence in the local language Chichewa to almost 800 individuals. read more
On 12 October, the Charge d’Affaires, Kirk Hollingsworth officially launched a human rights project focussing on prisoners health at Chichiri Prison in Blantyre.
The project titled “Disease Screening and Control” will be run by the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA), a Non Governmental Organisation in Chichiri, Chikwawa and Thyolo prisons and will aim at improving health standards of prisons so that they comply with the International Minimum Standards of Treatment of Prisoners as adopted in 1955 by the UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of offenders.
The project will focus on improving admission procedures of prisoners and ensuring sick prisoners get medical treatment on time hence reducing transmission of diseases.
Speaking at the launch, Hollingsworth recognised the efforts by the Malawi Prisons Service and CHREAA in promoting and protecting the human rights of prison inmates in Malawi. He highlighted that prisoners are human beings and like any other group in society, deserve the right to be treated with humanity, diginity and respect. Full Speech
His Worship, Chief Resident Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa, a member of the Prisons Inspectorate, Mercy Mulele, Board Chair for CHREAA, and the Regional Prisons Officer for the South, Litto Mtengano, all joined hands to commend the British Government for the support rendered to the Malawi Prisons Service.
In his speech, Usiwa Usiwa highlighted that some problems faced in prisons such as diseases and lack of space are curable or correctable hence the launch of the project is timely. Full Speech
Prisoners at Chichiri spiced the launch with dances, drama and poetry.