125. He reiterates that he was not afforded the right to be represented and defended as
provided by Section 310 of the Criminal Procedure Act. He further argued
that he was initially defended
disadvantage; the latter
that
the fact
by lawyer, Mr. Njau does not mean that he was not at a
having
represented
him
as a
relation,
but when he had more
clients, he decided to abandon him since his services were free of charge .
126. At the Public Hearing, Counsel for the Applicant maintained that as at 12 October
1997, the latter no longer had an Advocate; and that despite the existence of a law on
legal aid, he had to defend himself all alone both in the lower courts and at the Court of
Appeal.
He added that no attempt was made by the judicial authorities to afford him legal
assistance or representation, whereas they had the power to do so; whereas under the
African Commission
on Human
and Peoples’ Rights’ Principles and Guidelines on the
Right to Fair Trial and Legal Assistance"’ in Africa, the State is under the obligation to
extend
interests
legal aid to the accused if he/she cannot afford to hire an attorney, or where the
of justice so require,
which
situation
has to be assessed
seriousness of the offence and the severity of the penalty.
according
to the
He also invoked the Lilongwe
Declaration on Accessing Legal Aid in the Criminal Justice System in Africa on accessing
legal aid in the criminal justice system
in Africa
and
argued
that for the purpose
of
adopting measures in compliance with the right to a fair trial under Article 1 of the Charter,
the State had to take on board the principles set forth in the Lilongwe Declaration.
127. At the same hearing, Counsel for the Applicant stated that the latter had requested
for legal aid, but was told that legal aid was
available only in cases of homicide; that in
the circumstances, the Respondent State in particular violated Article 7 of the Charter
and Article 14 of the Covenant
on the right to a fair trial, including the right to legal
assistance.
>
17 See infra, note 17.
2
36
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