The Legal Aid Commission has stated that financial status of applicants are reviewed before any legal service is provided.

This, the Commission said, is to ensure that only vulnerable people who cannot afford legal services are given priority.

Speaking in an interview on The Law on Sunday, a staff of the Commission, Saani Mahmoud Abdul-Rashee noted that some of these mechanisms exist to prevent unscrupulous citizens who pretend to be poor in order to access legal aid.

“Over the years, some persons because they hear legal aid, they just tell their lawyers that I want an offer from Legal Aid. Some people will drive, come and park somewhere and then walk into the offices pretending to be vulnerable, so we do some background check before,” he said.

Mr. Abdul-Rasheed emphasised that their services are mainly for poor people in society who have breached the law and cannot afford legal services.

“Legal aid is available to persons who are in conflict with the law and they don’t have the necessary means to hire the services of lawyers. Poor people; people who cannot for some reason pay for legal services”, he clarified to host Samson Lardy Anyenini.

The Commission, however, warned that persons who misrepresent their status to secure legal aid may be liable to a jail term of two years if they are found out.

“If you fail to be truthful to the Commission and they find that you actually came and lied to us, then you’ll be refused legal aid”, he added.