We sit down with some of Irish Rule of Law International’s (IRLI) Malawi team this month to discuss how Malawi's poverty is affecting its justice institutions. IRLI’s programme in the country is strategically designed, in collaboration with its partners on the ground, to provide access to justice to people accused of crimes in Malawi. Malawi is a country with a prison population of seventeen thousand and only 700 lawyers.

We hear from Susie Kiely IRLI’s Malawi Director, Macdara O Droisecoil IRLI’s Programme Lawyer seconded to the Legal Aid Bureau and Immaculate Maluza IRLI’s programme lawyer seconded to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

They talk about democracy in the resource-poor country, the overcapacity of Malawi’s prisons, prison conditions for inmates, the new Prisons Bill they’re trying to see enacted and the huge delays in bringing people to court.

IRLI’s holistic approach to access to justice in Malawi enables its programme to target each component of the justice system and ensures the cooperation and coordination between key institutions.

Presented and produced by Evelyn McClafferty.

With thanks to our donors: Irish Aid.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of IRLI or Irish Aid.