Regent Insurance Company launched the first legal insurance fund early this year.
Chairman of the Law Society, Ophemetse Motumise said the scheme would be beneficial to many people since there is no state funded legal aid scheme in the country.
However, he said such schemes are available in most countries.
In Botswana, the state only provides legal services to people charged with capital offences.
Motumise said the University of Botswana Legal Clinic is the only centre, which assists people who cannot afford legal services. He noted that one of the ideals of Vision 2016 is that “we should be a just nation”. To be a “just nation”, he said, implies that justice should be accessible to those who deserve it. But he pointed out that this has not always been the case since many people could not afford legal services.
He acknowledged that there is a general feeling that the exorbitant legal fees are too expensive for a lot of people who seek justice.
“This scheme would fulfil one of the pillars of Vision 2016 since more could have access to justice,” he said.
Motumise regards the legal cover as important since it promotes good values in the society and a general enforcement of people’s rights. “A scheme like this could enhance the quality of our democracy. It is the same as a medical aid cover, which makes health accessible to a large number of people. One hopes that a scheme like this will benefit as many people as possible or that we would have more schemes of this nature,” he said.
Jan Claassen, the managing director of Letshego, which is administrating the legal insurance cover, said there has been a positive response from the public. Classen said the Letshego Legal Guard covers both criminal and civil matters, including child maintenance cases. But he said for moral reasons, they do not cover divorce matters. He said they do not want to be seen to be promoting family break-ups.
The legal insurance covers clients for up to P35, 000 with a monthly premium of P49. Claassen said they appoint lawyers for their clients. He said this will ensure the clients get good service.
He revealed that they were just about to sign agreements with six law companies who will be working with the legal insurance fund.
He said every person has a democratic right to be legally represented.
