University of Ghana Wins Again at African Human Rights Moot Court Competition

Dr Appiagyei-Atua with Sarah Gyimah and Kobby Afari Yeboah

The team from the School of Law, University of Ghana (UG) has again proven itself to Africa and the world as a force to reckon with when it comes to mooting as it clinched victory at the 26^th edition of the African Human Rights Moot Court competition which was held between September 18 and 23, 2017 at the University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius.

The moot competition is the largest annual gathering of law students and faculty across Africa to moot over a hypothetical case. It is an innovation of the Centre for Human Rights based at the Faculty of Law, the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The aim of the competition is to provide law students the platform to develop their advocacy skills and to deepen their knowledge on issues regarding human rights; as well as to to network and learn from other students across the continent. This year, the issue centred on the right to development, right to a satisfactory environment, foreign direct investment, indigenous rights and freedom of expression.

The UG team was made up of Kobby Afari Yeboah and Sarah Gyimah as mooters and Yaa Boatemaa Ohene-Bonsu as team researcher. The UG team mooted jointly with the team from American University in Cairo and Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny Cocody, Cote d’Ivoire as Respondents in the final against the Applicants from the University of Malawi, Rhodes University (South Africa) and Universidade Jean Piaget de Angola.

In addition to winning the final, at the preliminary level, Team UG was adjudged the second best team in the anglophone category at the preliminary rounds which gave them automatic qualification to the final. The team was also ranked fourth best in the written essays (memorials) as well as winning the second and sixth best oralist awards, picked by Kobby Afari Yeboah and Sarah Gyimah, respectively.

The team was led by their faculty advisor and human rights lecturer, Dr. Appiagyei-Atua, who has taken the School of Law to four finals out of seven competitions and won three of these finals – in 2008, 2009 and this year – for the University of Ghana. He was ably supported by Mr Kissi Agyebeng, a fellow lecturer at the School of Law who accompanied the team as well as alumni of the competition, including Mr Dennis Armah, Mr Kay Amoah, Mrs Kobiri-Woode and Mrs Benedicta Akita.

The School of Law, University of Ghana is also proud to have been selected as host for next year’s competition which will be held during the first week of August 2018.