AT LEAST 775,115 people in 11 regions in the country have been reached by the presidential legal aid campaign, with 3163 cases solved by the start of this month.

Dr Damas Ndumbaro, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs minister, said at a press conference yesterday that the campaign team is preparing to launch activities in six regions, listed as Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Geita, Katavi, Tabora, and Mtwara, starting Friday this week.

The campaign will be run for nine days in ten wards in every district, he said, noting that 13 more regions will be covered in two months, ensuring complete outreach across all regions in the Mainland and Zanzibar.

The campaign has reached at least 775,115 people in 11 regions, with 49 percent of beneficiaries being women and 51 percent men, he said, affirming that land conflicts topped the list of cases handled.

Gender-based violence, marital conflicts and inheritance disputes came next, he said, hinting that many inheritance conflicts stem from the absence of written wills, leading to disputes among family members over the property of the deceased.

The presidential legal aid campaign is a three-year initiative designed to provide legal aid to the public nationwide, equipping people with basic notions in those areas even if they are not facing any legal contentions, he said.

He added that educating the public on basic issues of human rights, the right to respect and dignity is a major focus, strengthening understanding of the law in particular for matters affecting women and children, he stated.

The conduct of the campaign is similarly focused on addressing traditions and customs that conflict with the country’s laws, fostering societal understanding and respect for traditions in the context of the law, he specified.

Providing legal advice and support to victims’ of sexual violence is another sphere of concern, as the legal aid initiative is meant to raise public awareness on legal rights and responsibilities.

This includes human rights, governance basics and other societal issues related to the justice system, he further noted, citing inheritance and legacy management, land law and property rights as principal issues.

The campaign is an aspect of conflict resolution through alternative methods, while the public awareness campaign particularly targets local government officials, ward executives, village chairmen as well as members of district land councils, traditional elders and religious leaders.

The campaign is a constitutionally-backed legal initiative arising from efforts by President Samia Suluhu Hassan to form a panel to rectify operations of the criminal justice system, as well as seeking to solve piled court cases related to land, inheritance and matrimonial issues.

Establishing a cadre of legal assistants has improved access to justice, a cadre initiated in 2017, with a total of 4,790 legal assistants trained so far, A total of 1,073 are registered and licensed in the Mainland while in Zanzibar has 370 trained legal assistants where 258 are registered and licensed, he added