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Patrick Chitumba – Midlands Bureau

THE Midlands State University (MSU) Faculty of Law has won the African Champions in the prestigious 33rd Christof Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition, held in Rwanda, showcasing their exceptional legal expertise and advocacy skills on the continental stage.

The team beat 59 other universities from the continent.

A moot court competition is a simulated court proceeding where students or participants take on the roles of lawyers, arguing a hypothetical case before a panel of judges.

Moot court competitions can focus on various areas of law, such as international law, human rights, or constitutional law.

They provide a valuable learning experience, helping participants develop essential skills for legal practice and enhancing their knowledge of the law.

In a statement, MSU Director-Marketing and Communications Mrs Mirirai Mawere said the moot court competition ran from July 22-27 in Kigali, Rwanda

“The winning team was constituted with Midlands State University, Zimbabwe, and Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The runner ups were the University of Nairobi, Kenya and the Université Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso,” she said.

Mrs Mawere said the MSU team was represented by Watson Tonderai Somerai and Michelle Patricia Chiwanga, together with their coach and lecturer Mr Claudios Makwara.

She noted that the team put up a sterling performance in the competition to emerge as the African Champions for the first time.

“The moot court competition was organised by the Centre for Human Rights, South Africa. The competition had 50 Anglophone teams, 9 Francophone teams and 1 Lusophone team. Daystar University of Kenya won the best memorials,” said Mrs Mawere.