Equality Now, the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR), KICTANET and the Strathmore University School of Law hosted the Africa Gender Equality Moot Court Competition (AGEMCC) from August 2022 to January 2023. The AGEMCC is the first moot court to be dedicated solely to the rights of women and girls in Africa.
The team representing the University of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), comprising Nadia Mutisi and Claudio Faro, emerged as the overall best team for the English component of the competition. Obafemi Owolowo University (Nigeria) was the runner-up team (consisting of Blessing Nwankwo and Akinwumi Akinyemi) for the English component of the competition. In the French component of the competition, the winning team were students from Université Catholique de Bukavu (Democratic Republic of Congo), composed of Ryan Anciza Migani and Murhula Pacifique Bahati. The best runners-up team in the French component of the competition were students from the Université d’Abomey-Calavi (Benin) consisting of Géovania Doussou and Roland Adoun.
The competition saw participation by 35 teams from 30 universities in 16 African countries. The English component of the competition saw the participation of 26 teams, while the French component of the competition saw the participation of 9 student teams. The teams battled from the Preliminary and Quarterfinals Rounds of the Competition, which were held virtually in November 2022, to the Semi-finals and Final Rounds, which were held from January 16 to 18, 2023, in person at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Competition saw the participants present well-articulated memorials highlighting legal arguments raised by the hypothetical case. The best memorial award for the English component of the competition was awarded to Makerere University (Uganda), consisting of Noreen Nakirinya and Jamada Kalinda Musa. The first runner-up was awarded to the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Kenya), consisting of Jacinta Waititu and Nickson J Ochieng’. As for the French component of the competition, the best memorials award went to Université Virtuelle du Senegal (Senegal), consisting of Yasminah Zombre and Awa Sagnang, and the first runner-up was awarded to the Université d’Abomey-Calavi (Benin) team consisting of Géovania Doussou and Roland Adoun.
The winners of the AGEMCC will have the opportunity to intern in SOAWR member organisations, and it is hoped that they will gain further expertise on women’s rights lawyering, legal research and writing, as well as advocacy skills aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of women and girls in Africa.
Considering the proliferation of the digital space across Africa, a phenomenon that has only increased in pace in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition’s organisers selected Women’s Economic and Political Rights in the Digital Space. The moot court question and the hypothetical case were drawn from this theme, offering the depth and breadth to engage as many innovative approaches on the question of enforcement of the Maputo Protocol as possible. The competition question was centred on the obligation placed upon states to promote and protect the rights of women under the Maputo Protocol by taking active steps through the adoption and full implementation of national legislation and policies vis-a-vis dealing with the unequal distribution of resources and opportunities when it comes to the digitisation process in Africa, the proliferation of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), lack of political will by state and non-state actors to be held accountable for their failure in respecting the rights of women and girls, among other topics.
The Competition was set before the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights. Competitors were encouraged to leverage their own country’s unique legal and social contexts to craft arguments and approaches aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of the challenges faced in the promotion and protection of the rights of women and girls while learning from the experiences and contexts of other participants.
‘‘The sole purpose of the AGEMCC has been to encourage young legal minds to learn not only about women’s rights but more so, to encourage them on the use of the Maputo Protocol as a means to protect the rights of women and girls in Africa. This Moot Court Competition is part of Equality Now’s initiatives of bringing up the next generation of women’s rights advocates in Africa to competently undertake women’s rights lawyering with a high degree of expertise.”
Opening remarks by Commissioner Winfred Lichuma, who serves on the Equality Now board
”I appreciate the legal expertise represented in the room. We as the lawyers of today must seek to mentor the lawyers of tomorrow, to ensure that we hold their hands and guide them to continue the arduous work we have already established of ensuring that vulnerable and marginalized populations are not forgotten but, protected. It is for this reason that competitions such as this Moot Court, push young legal minds to take into account the experiences of women and girls in Africa. It is crucial to ensure that those who come after us, can continue holding the fort and, where possible, even push boundaries to ensure that women and girls live in a just world, free from any form of discrimination.”
Closing remarks by Hon.Justice Nancy Baraza, Chief Guest at the AGEMCC Awards
The 55 competition judges were drawn from renowned African academics, jurists, legal practitioners and women’s rights advocates. The final rounds of the competition were judged by:
- Justice Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza (Judge of the Supreme Court of Uganda)
- Prof Pacifique Manirakiza (Professor at Ottawa University and Former Commissioner at the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights)
- Dr Horace Adjolohoun (Principal Legal Officer, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights)
- Christine Nkonge (Executive Director, Katiba Institute)
- Tike Mwambipile (Executive Director, Tanzanian Women’s Lawyers Association)
- Samia Melki (President, KADIRAT)
- Mokshda Pertaub (International legal and judicial training expert, former Director of the Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies, Mauritius)
- Harrison Mbori (Former Lecturer and Moot Coordinator at Strathmore University, Doctorate Fellow at Loyola University and Researcher at Max Planck Institute).
The 2022/2023 AGEMCC is the second iteration of the competition. Past winners of the competition include:
- 2021 AGEMCC English Component Winner – Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (Ghana) comprising of Mowbrey Nelson-Jones and Esther Farodoye
- 2021 AGEMCC French Component Winner – Université des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques de Bamako (Mali), composed of Abdoulaye Dicko, Adiawiakoye Ibrahim and Adiawiakoye Mahala.
- 2021 AGEMCC English Component First Runner Up – Makerere University (Uganda) comprising of Maria Patience Asiimwe and Arthur Taremwa
- 2021 AGEMCC French Component First Runner Up – Université de Parakou (Benin) comprising of Fandahon Frejus and Dokpomiwa Rose
- 2021 AGEMCC Best Memorial Award (English) – Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Kenya) comprising of Kenson Mutethya and Celestine Chweya
- 2021 AGEMCC Best Memorial Award (French) – Université de Parakou (Benin) comprising of Fandahon Frejus and Dokpomiwa Rose
Important Links:
- 2022/2023 AGEMCC Final Match (English Component) – Video
- 2022/2023 AGEMCC Final Match (French Component) – Video
- Photos of the Semi-Finals, Finals and Award Ceremony of the AGEMCC – https://www.flickr.com/gp/197677433@N05/19K48Q473C
To keep up to date with the Africa Gender Equality Moot Court Competition, check out our dedicated webpage.