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Authors: Barefootlaw Research Team BarefootLaw, with support from the MOTT Foundation, conducted research in Zambia to understand and bring to the forefront innovations that aim to improve access to justice in the country. A local crowdsourcing initiative revealed a range of efforts, with mobile legal clinics emerging as one of the standout innovations. In this article, we zoom in on mobile legal clinics conducted in Choma by Justice for All Network (J4N). Zambians living in remote areas are often economically disadvantaged and encounter major obstacles in accessing legal assistance. These challenges include long travel distances, inadequate transportation, and limited awareness of their legal rights and available services. As a result, those who are most in need frequently go without essential legal support and are left without any means of redress. Mobile legal clinics are designed to fill this critical gap. Choma J4N launched mobile legal clinics to bring legal services directly to remote and underserved communities by setting up temporary legal service centres in various locations. The clinics educate residents about their legal rights and processes for seeking justice and provide a platform for reporting grievances. The clinics also serve as a platform for reporting corruption and abuse of public office – promoting accountability among public officials and institutions and helping to cultivate a culture of integrity and responsiveness. On top of immediate assistance, the network facilitates the documentation and referral of complaints to relevant public institutions, tracks and follows up on cases to ensure that complaints are addressed and resolved in a timely manner. The Model J4N is a network of members ranging from legal professionals to legal support staff from government and non-government agencies who contribute their time and expertise voluntarily or at a minimal cost. The network sets up temporary legal clinics in different communities and locations, and members travel to these communities to provide justice services. Members from government departments include magistrates, the Zambia police and the Legal Aid Board, among others. Innovativeness of the model Innovation has been defined as a new or improved product or process that varies greatly from previous products or processes and that has been made available to potential users (OECD, 2018). A key element of innovation for the mobile legal clinics in Choma is its operation as a collaborative effort and partnership that brings together civil society organizations (CSOs) and government departments. Unlike previous models of legal clinics, professionals from each of these agencies and entities collaborate voluntarily to contribute their time and expertise to the clinics. These in-kind contributions make the model more cost-effective and sustainable with lesser reliance on donor funding for continuity. Additionally, the collaboration is able to leverage unique resources from each partner to chart and create ways to effectively provide redress for justice issues faced by communities. Notably, its mobile setup means that the model is lean on establishment and maintenance of permanent structures and infrastructure that is often costly. WATCH to learn more about Choma Justice for all Network from Joe Mapiki: Impact Mobile legal clinics in Choma have bridged gaps in legal service delivery – improving access to justice for communities in remote and underserved areas. The clinics are accessible and affordable to clients who would otherwise have used more time and higher costs to transport themselves to justice centers. The clinics have created awareness and educated community members about their rights and processes available for seeking redress. To consistently improve on their effectiveness, as well as foster accountability and responsiveness of the justice system, the J4N network tracks and follows up on cases to ensure that complaints are addressed and resolved. Lessons This initiative serves as a learning model for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with contexts similar to Zambia. Its collaborative framework—bringing together Civil Society Organizations, government departments, and law enforcement agencies—offers a flexible and adaptable structure that can be replicated in other locations and countries through the inclusion of additional partners as necessary. The model guarantees provision of justice services to every person regardless of their social class or financial status. References OECD/Eurostat (2018), Oslo Manual 2018: Guidelines for Collecting, Reporting and Using Data on Innovation, 4th Edition, The Measurement of Scientific, Technological and Innovation Activities, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304604-en.

Projects

  While giving his closing remarks during a legal sensitization in Paicho Subcounty, Gulu District in Northern Uganda on Tuesday, 26th May 2025, the Paramount Chief of Acholi, Rwot Onen David Acana II, said that the digital legal services offered at the BarefootLaw Box in Paicho “demonstrate that laws do not only belong in the cities, but laws can also be decentralized for people in the villages.” The sensitization convened over two hundred (200) clan leaders from the eight (8) districts of the Acholi sub-region for a knowledge exchange on how to harmonize cultural justice mechanisms and the law. The content and theme of the training were informed by various cases received at the BarefootLaw Box, where cultural practices differed from processes stipulated in the law. Interesting perspectives during the training We engaged the leaders in a two-way discussion on issues including educating them on the laws that provide for customary leaders, posthumous marriage practices, the return of dowry, and corporal punishment for misdemeanors etc. “One of the most contentious topics was on the return of dowry,” Wabule, one of the training lawyers, reported. The practice in the community is that when a marriage ends, the parents of the wife are expected to return the full amount of dowry that had been given at the beginning of the marriage. “The leaders argued that sometimes the women leave marriages in pursuit of other love interests, it is unfair to their husbands, therefore justifying the practice of return of dowry,” Ocaya, another lawyer, explained. During the training, Wabule informed them that the traditional custom and practice of demanding a refund of dowry is unconstitutional and “dehumanizing to women”. “The return of [the] dowry connotes that the woman in marriage was some sort of loan,” she stated. By the end of the heated session, the leaders agreed that it is “unfair” for the parents of the woman to be asked to refund dowry after years of marriage, some further stating “it was unlikely they would have kept the property .” The Resolve- Harmonizing culture and the Law Today, we are here to bridge the role between culture and the law. And to educate each other on how customary leaders, and lawyers like us, can better deal with problems in our communities. We are here to look for the good in the western system, and the good in our system, and find a way of making them work together, for the benefit of our people, as we create peaceful communities in which people can thrive. – Gerald Abila, CEO and Founder of BarefootLaw. Hon. Charles Okello, the Local Council (LCIII) commended the leader for honoring the training in large numbers. “One mango tree has gathered over 30 clans of Acholi. That is what we need to do as Acholi people- gather to reconcile,” he said. BarefootLaw’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gerald Abila, added that for so many years, customary leaders were the people to whom people in communities went to have their legal problems resolved. However, during colonialism, the leaders were ignored and their ways were called backward. “It is because of this that we have seen so many problems left unresolved in our communities, why justice has become expensive, and why our community people go to court and they do not understand English, “ Abila explained. He further stated that some of the dispute resolution mechanisms of the traditional system are “tried and tested.“ His Royal Highness Rwot Acana II thanked BarefootLaw for being forward-looking by bringing this training to the people of Paicho and Acholi, stating that he gained a tremendous amount of knowledge. ” With resources allowing and with time allowing, this should go to all the chiefs of Acholi, where it will reach all the people of Acholi.” He further encouraged all the leaders to heed the lessons they had received and desist from continuing with unjust practices, especially against women and girls, while carrying out their roles. This dialogue between the customary and formal justice mechanisms enables us to work together to resolve disputes better and create more peaceful communities in which our people can thrive.  

Lessons from Our Work

BarefootLaw Research Team Legal illiteracy is widely spread in Zambia, with millions of citizens largely unaware of their rights and lacking the empowerment needed to navigate the legal system and exercise their rights [1]. Awareness of the law, available legal remedies in case of disputes, avenues for seeking justice, and access to legal information remain inadequate. This heavily impacts Zambians’ use of the justice system to resolve disputes [2,3]. The situation is further worsened by a shortage of lawyers and legal practitioners, along with the limited geographical reach of legal aid services, leaving millions of Zambians with limited access to any form of legal assistance [4]. Overall, the country’s Legal Aid Board has a ratio of 1 lawyer (including Legal Aid Board legal practitioners and legal aid assistants) to 314,815 persons, but this is worse with some provinces only having one Legal Aid Board legal practitioner for the whole province covering over 1,000,000 persons [4,6]. Though promising, the paralegal system in the country is still in its infancy, with a limited number of civil society organizations and affiliated paralegals providing legal aid services at the community level. The number of active paralegals, which is in the range of 300 – 500 countrywide, is still insufficient to adequately cater for the legal aid needs [6]. The main source of legal information in Zambia is government institutions, which often require physical retrieval after a longer bureaucratic process or paid subscription. This mode of access is often left for those with legal training and who know exactly what they are looking for [3]. While the Parliament publishes all new laws on its website, navigating these laws to identify what is relevant from the chronological list can be difficult for non-legal users. Innovation To address and narrow this gap, one lawyer, Peter Mwala Musanshi, through his initiative, Project Legal, located in Obama, Lusaka, Zambia, has innovatively used social media to provide access to legal information. This innovation aims to bring the law to the people. It provides a free, public and user-friendly access to the law for every Zambian, legal institutions and businesses. The initiative educates citizens about their rights under the law, empowering them to advocate for themselves and others. Leveraging social media for legal awareness can be a powerful tool for disseminating legal information and promoting community empowerment. Social media allows for rapid dissemination of information and engagement with diverse audiences, including youths, among other age groups. Project Legal is proactively using this platform to create legal awareness through sharing various provisions of the law from sections of acts of parliament and explaining how the law addresses various issues, including rape, child marriages, incorporation of companies and what makes a will valid under Zambian law. It simplifies legal concepts and uses social media to explain complex legal concepts in simple, accessible language – making them easier for the public to understand. Importantly, the initiative directs Zambians to relevant documents, online resources and legal aid services. Running for almost 2 years, the initiative has also begun engagements in active discussions online with people who interact with the shared information and provide further explanations where needed. Learn more about Peter’s innovation here: Internet usage in Zambia has grown significantly, particularly in the last decade, with mobile devices driving most of the access. By 2024, Zambia had 11.4 million active internet subscribers and users [7]. With a total population of approximately 23 million people, internet penetration has increased to over 35%. With such a growing internet usage rate, social media presents a new frontier for raising legal awareness. Social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and WhatsApp can now reach a large number of Zambians including those in remote areas. More recently, as a follow-up to the social media engagement, including X (formerly Twitter), the initiative is implementing legal tours in secondary and high schools in Zambia. Legal tours are sensitization visits to secondary and high schools around the country with the objective of introducing the students to what the law is while they are in school and teaching them how the law protects them, the obligations the law places on them as children and how they can go about reporting violations of their rights. Impact Through this initiative, Zambians have access to legal information in formats and a language that can be easily understood. The information and articles posted on social media (Twitter) are widely read. One article post has had over 3000 views. Example of posts on Twitter With the information provided, justice seekers are able to actively and meaningfully participate in resolving their conflicts and address their grievances in a timely and effective manner. “People are becoming more aware of what the law is, how the law protects them, the obligations that the law places on them, how to report crimes and the rights that they have under the law.” – Peter Mwala Musanshi References Lobna & Donna. 2025. Zambia – Assessment of Access to Justice and Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43142 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO. Maines, G., Tembo, N., & Jung, Y. (2022). Conducting Legal Needs Surveys in Zambia: Taking a Contextual Approach. Masson, M., & Tahir, O. (2016). The legal information needs of civil society in Zambia. J. Open Access L., 4, 1. World Bank 2022, Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (PEIR), Final Report. Global Access to Justice Report: Zambia https://globalaccesstojustice.com/global-overview-zambia/ PMRC 2021, PMRC Analysis of the National Legal Aid Policy. UN 2024, https://unsdg.un.org/latest/stories/new-frontiers-zambia-embraces-digital-transformation https://globalaccesstojustice.com/global-overview-zambia/

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Dear Friends, We are 13 years old! We are a whole teenager!! For 13 years, we have made justice accessible to all by innovatively using digital tools to empower people and communities to fully and enjoy their rights. We continue to create peaceful communities where people can thrive, delivering tech-enabled justice that prevents problems before they start and puts power back in your hands. Thank you for walking this Barefoot journey with us.