Fighting Africa’s poverty and ignorance through clinical legal education: Shared experiences with new initiatives for the 21st Century

Abstract

This paper attempts to establish and analyse the role of African universities generally and their law schools in particular in their fight, if any, against poverty and ignorance. In that regard, the case of legal education and specifically its clinical programmes will be analysed, and the thrust of the discussion will be directed toward the following issues:

1. The backdrop of the debate: Universities and Community Outreach Programmes;
2. Understanding the genesis and application of clinical legal education in Africa;
3. Sharing experiences of clinical education in different countries in Africa; and
4. New challenges and initiatives for the 21st Century.
Each of these issues is discussed separately and seriatim in subsequent paragraphs.