Clear News

INVITATION: Get Out of Jail Fee – The Great UK Lock Up!

In many countries in sub Saharan Africa men, women and children wait for years on remand for trials that may end with no witnesses ever appearing for the prosecution. Often they have no idea of the charges laid against them and, with no legal aid, they are spectators at their hearing; a lack of education compounding their plight, born out of poverty.

CLEAR projects provide pro bono legal aid and education to the poorest in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda – and we would like to expand our support for Nigeria and Ghana.

Once a year we run a CLEAR 100 campaign, looking to supporters to get involved in sponsored activity to raise at least £100 for the work overseas. Every penny raised is used to support the work in Africa.

As part of this year’s campaign we are encouraging local groups of lawyers, students and churches to raise awareness of the injustice meted out to the poor by agreeing to be “locked up” – from 7p.m. to 7 a.m. – and to raise at least £100 from sponsors  for “bail” (£50 for students) to secure their release. Your local coordinator will be notifying you of the date and venue for the great lock up in your area and you are invited to take part in what will be (almost) an African prison experience – see the reverse of the enclosed summons for what you have in store!

• £100 buys representation for at least 4 young offenders when they are brought before the Magistrates for the first time.
• £100 pays for a rural legal education seminar teaching on  human rights and developing the mediation role of local leaders
• £100 pays for a training session for a group of para-legals within a prison so that they are able to    educate fellow inmates on how to represent themselves at their upcoming remand hearings.

CAN YOU GET A LOCAL GROUP TOGETHER?
If so, download the instructions and tools for the task, or contact Christine John

CAN YOU RAISE £100?   IT’S JUST ONE NIGHT
Some of our clients spend 5 years or more awaiting trial for relatively minor offences….GO ON! GET INVOLVED.

CLEAR Staff and Pro Bono Lawyers Visit IDP Camps

Lawyers from the KCLF's CLEAR project visited Internally Displaced People in the camp at Haruma, where they distributed gifts of essential items whilst looking at the issues of injustice that they will shortly be documenting and pursuing for clients just such as these.

Joyce, our CLEAR Advocate in Nairobican be seen getting to grips with one of life's essentials!

In all offices, including Eldoret and Kisumu, work is currently back to normal, except for the increased clientele.

 

Human Rights for Prison Officers!

This is not quite what it looks........

Over 100 prison officers from 7 Kenyan Coast Province prisons attended a conference hosted by CLEAR to discuss what human rights meant for the people in their charge. Speakers at the conference included Victor Kamau, CLEAR's senior advocate specialising in human rights and Miss Wanini Kireri, Assistant Commissioner of Prisons.  Miss Kireri strongly supports those who wish to see humane conditions in the prisons and has received the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Award twice for her work in prison reform.  She described the CLEAR conference in the following terms; ‘it is a dream come true that prison officers are able to sit together like this and talk about human rights’.  The conference came about when guards at prisons in which CLEAR staff were working with prisoners asked about training for themselves.

 

AND ELSEWHERE

• Parties were thrown in different parts of the country -wedding anniversaries, birthdays and just for fun - and guests were asked to donate rather than give presents
• Marathons and half marathons were run
• Brochures were circulated in law firms and collections taken
• Talks were given in churches and law firms
• Some law firms matched funds raised by employees
• Andre completed a triathlon!

A huge thank you to all who took part last year - and if you didn't, start thinking of ideas!

We are hoping to double the activities and funds raised in 2008.

Summer Conferences

Commonwealth Lawyers' Association

CLEAR was priviledged to appear at the CLA Conference in Nairobi in September, speaking at a fringe meeting

The CLEAR team

And they ran a workshop for other African lawyers -

-at the Advocates Africa Conference in Mombasa

Social Enterprise Expands in Mombasa

The first businesses are underway in Mombasa and now Eldoret! The photocopying services at the court have been expanded, providing free copies of charge sheets to remand prisoners (who otherwise would not know what they are charged with) and covering its costs and making a small profit through services to advocates.

In addition, the first 3 tuk tuks have taken to the road, using local drivers and making an estimated profit, after deductions for replacement, mantenance and running costs, of KSH 39,000 (approximately £300) p.m.

And our swahili house is now fully rented at KSH 20,000p.m. with 3 more being acquired through a donor's generosity

 

 

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL VISITS NAIROBI!

Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General of England and Wales made a surprise visit to the CLEAR project in Nairobi 21st November. The staff and volunteers were very excited to receive such recognition of their work and they hope this will assist in their bid to take part in JLOS (the major donor governance aid programme). Having shared his own experience of pro bono work, Lord Goldsmith told the local press that he was pleased to meet with a project which was actually taking and running cases.

The Attorney General and CLEAR staff share their experience of pro bono work in the fight against injustice from 2 very different continents