The Chilungamo: Access to Justice Project aims at providing a cost-effective, efficient, and inclusive approach to increasing access to justice for the poor and vulnerable members of society, especially women and children through village mediation and paralegal services. The four-and-a-half-year project is supported jointly by UNDP and the European Union through technical and financial assistance.

The Project supports the Paralegal Advisory Service Institute (PASI) to train and deploy village mediators, empowered to provide alternative dispute resolution through the resolution of petty offence cases outside the formal justice system and legal courts, and recommends more serious cases to law enforcement agencies.

Law enforcers commend the work of village mediators under the project in settling petty disputes, saying it is key to sanitizing the country’s justice delivery system while ensuring that community relations are more enhanced.

Speaking during the UNDP-PASI media tour, Sub-Inspector Sydric Kachala from Lifuwu Police Unit in Salima District said the Access to Justice Project through village mediators is having a positive impact on the country’s justice delivery system. He noted that because village mediators resolve petty offences and cases are not referred to formal justice systems, many cases are diverted and this helps reduce congestion in Malawi’s detention facilities, including prisons and police holding cells.

“Before the Chilungamo – Access to Justice Project, police could arrest and detain a person suspected to have committed a minor offense, but now such cases can be handled by mediators. This has helped to decongest cells,” said sub-inspector Kachala.

Concurring with the police, Senior Chief Maganga said the village mediation committees in Salima can be credited for peace building and enhancing relations among communities.

One of the beneficiaries of the project, Chikumbutso Jackson from T/A Mtonga in the district, recalled how village mediators under the Chilungamo-Access to Justice Project supported him.

Records show that Jackson was arrested by police after damaging somebody’s property in the community. According to Jackson, the village mediators later handled his case, which he said was very tense in nature. He said that he was spared a prison sentence as the case was amicably resolved.

“Now, I made peace with the person, and we are back on speaking terms.”

“I regret my actions, totally. It was uncalled for in the first place. Were it not for the village mediation committee’s intervention, I could have been jailed for my actions,” said Jackson.

Farida Wayison, one of the village mediators, said they have been dealing with civil cases mostly bordering on minor domestic squabbles and loan defaults, among others.

Wayison also emphasized that the mediators refer all serious cases, mostly criminal cases, to the police for further action.

PASI, in partnership with UNDP and the EU, has resolved over 50,000 cases within two years through the intervention of the village mediators/ village mediation services.