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The Compass: My Perfect Country: My Perfect Country: Legal Advice in Uganda

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Gerald Abila - Managing Director, Barefoot Lawyers

10/03/2016 GMT

My Perfect Country: Legal Advice in Uganda

My Perfect Country

BBC World Service - The Compass, My Perfect Country, My Perfect Country: Legal Advice in Uganda

How a group of legal experts revolutionised Uganda's legal system through social media

How a group of legal experts revolutionised Uganda's legal system through social media.

Fi Glover looks at how communities in Uganda have revolutionised the justice system by taking matters into their own hands.

The complexity of the law system in Uganda can be a tough one to follow – and causes particular difficulties for its residents. Solving that problem are the Barefoot Lawyers. In 2012, a technically competent group of legal experts began providing legal advice through social media to anyone who requested it. And it is now an award-winning, non-profit social enterprise assisting 300,000 people every month and answering around 50 enquiries per day. A particular achievement came in winning a sexual assault case for a twelve-year-old girl.

Our local reporter delves into the inner workings of the legal group to hear why they wanted to help and how they have made it work. They hear from the individuals whose lives have been changed as a result – as well as how the country’s official legal system are responding to the group.

Is a DIY law system the basis for a perfect country? Presenter Fi Glover, entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, professor Henrietta Moore of the Institute for Global prosperity and special studio guests – give their verdict.

(Photo: Gerald Abila, the Managing Director of Barefoot Lawyers, at his office in Kampala. Credit: Isaac Kasamani/AFP/Getty Images)

The Compass: My Perfect Country

Fi Glover and digital guru Martha Lane Fox invite you to imagine your perfect country.

In a world where a lot is going wrong there is also a lot going right. Fi Glover and digital guru Martha Lane Fox invite you to imagine your perfect country.

In a world where a lot is going wrong there is also a lot going right. So what if you could build a country - with policies that actually worked? Fi Glover and digital guru Martha Lane Fox invite you to imagine your perfect country by homing in on policies from across the world that have been truly successful.

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