Early
last month, students from the Faculty of Law of the University of Dar
es Salaam (UDSM), defeated their peers from the Saint Augustine
University of Tanzania (SAUT) in the global Jessup Moot Court
competition to snatch a place to represent the country in the finals to
be held in Washington DC next December.
It is very encouraging that universities in Africa can also compete
and gain visibility at par with similar world class schools. There was
a move, sometimes in the 1990s, to discourage the establishment of
universities in Africa, advice that was bluntly rejected by the heads of
state and government.
Otherwise, the World Bank, of all the institutions, had come up
with a suggestion that Africa should only have polytechnics and send its
university level students elsewhere in the world for study.
Granted, running universities is costly but the counter argument is
always that if you think “education is expensive, then try ignorance.”
UDSM’s Faculty of Law is East Africa’s oldest law school and its
alumni include Uganda’s President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Kenya’s
former attorney general, Amos Wako.
SAUT, on the other hand, is a relatively young institution but
draws from the rich heritage and resources of the Catholic Church’s
educational prestige and experience. Moot courts, which usually
simulate courtroom drama and theatrics, usually require intensive
research on the “trial” subject, teamwork and the individual abilities
of the ‘attorneys’ and ‘jurists’ to argue ‘their cases’ and weigh ‘the
evidence,’ all in a hypothetical context but in a way that makes legal
sense.
Thus, winning a moot court ‘trial’ is the mental and intellectual equivalent of clinching victory in a wrestling competition.
Unfortunately, ordinary members of society rarely accord
intellectual contests the same level of interest as they do for the
physical performances. Granted, professional ethics discourage
celebrity-style lawyers but competitions are competitions, be they
mental or physical.
It is my humble hope therefore, that society shall follow with
almost equal zeal and interest the performance of the country’s young
envoys in the finals of the Jessup Moot Court Competition.
The event brings together nearly 600 teams from universities
around the world with over 2000 competitors. By contrast, the World Cup
only brings together 32 teams but during those finals, the whole world
talks almost about nothing except that cup.
There is no doubt about the power of sport to bring about enduring
bonds between the individual competitors and the sporting nations but it
shouldn’t act as the world’s only social invention for advancing
global peace and harmony.
Most moot court participants go on to occupy quite influential
positions in life. And, it is the same people who most likely would meet
again in real life challenges. As a general rule, most problems are
usually solved even before they are tabled for discussion if the parties
are people who have known each other for a long time.
My advice to the country’s ambassadors is that they should not
relax or be overly corrupted in their minds by their triumph over SAUT. I
know they can do very well in Washington.
During his reign, Mr Wako was among other engagements a member of
the International Commission of Jurists, member Council of Legal
Education and member Council of International Bar Association. UDSM is
certainly a big name and the country’s envoys carry an equally enormous
responsibility.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN