The Ministry of Justice is set to open Justice Bureaus in every district that will give residents access to free legal aid by 2012.

This was revealed yesterday by Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama while launching The Legal Aid Week that will see over 618 cases involving detained juveniles country-wide given free legal assistance.

"By 2012, every district will have a justice bureau so that residents can access these services in their districts and all these services will be offered free of charge,” said Karugarama.

According to Karugarama, five districts in the country already have the bureaus and these include; Rulindo, Rwamagana, Nyanza, Karongi and Rusizi.

He explained that this is aimed at avoiding costs incurred by litigants who have to travel a long way from villages to towns where these services are offered.

The minister noted that people waste a lot of time and money over cases which might have been cheap and easily solved by local authorities due to lack of legal information and advice.

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