What We Do

The Malawi Bail Project has been working with The Centre for Human Rights, Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) since January 2012 to establish an access to justice project, focusing on educating arrested persons on their right to bail.

As the majority of people arrested in Malawi are unable to afford a private lawyer and there are currently only 22 legal aid lawyers, over 90% of people arrested will go through the court process without legal representation.  This lack of legal representation has resulted in large numbers of people, who would ordinarily qualify for bail, being imprisoned for months or years without trial.

By informing those arrested of their right to bail, prior to their first court appearance, we hope to increase the amount of bail applications heard and granted and consequently reduce the large number of people unnecessarily held in pre-trial detention across Malawi.