08 August 2018 Volume :6 Issue :36

UKZN Gives Inanda Communities Free Legal Advice and Domestic Violence Education

UKZN Street Law ProBono Outreach team and Law student volunteers assisting the Inanda community with free legal advice.

Final year LLB students, Mr Siphephelo Sithole, Mr Gift Luthuli and Ms Saadiyah Kader, joined the UKZN Street Law-Plus ProBono Outreach Team’s drive to provide free legal advice and domestic violence education in Ohlange, Inanda, as part of the Mandela Day celebrations.

The outreach programme is housed at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and is conducted on a monthly basis. The Law students in particular regard their participation in the programme as a valuable and enriching experience that enables them to gain valuable practical experience and to give back to the community.

The UKZN staff team comprised of Centre for Socio-Legal Studies Acting Director Professor David McQuoid-Mason; Mr Roshen Badul Singh, Supervising Attorney at the Durban Campus Law Clinic; as well as Mr Mark Larkin and Ms Karyn Peter, candidate attorneys at the Durban Campus Law Clinic.

The Mandela Day Outreach Programme was held at the home of Community Activist, Mr Thami Shandu, in Ohlange.

About 35 people from the local Ohlange community attended the initiative with almost half wanting legal advice. The remainder attended an interactive workshop on domestic violence.

Larkin and Peter, together with the Law students under the supervision of Singh, screened applicants for Legal Aid SA and gave general legal advice. The legal advice mainly consisted of housing and labour issues as well as municipal and government department difficulties. McQuoid-Mason conducted the two-hour interactive Street Law-type domestic violence workshop. 

Several other activities took place thereafter, including a talk on depression by a clinical psychologist.

Words: Ndabaonline 

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