Students applauded for excellence at global moot

Students from the University of Malawi recently participated the 15th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition, which took place at Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The UNIMA team was comprised of two students from the Department of Public Law and Clinical Legal Education in the School of Law, Economics, and Government, namely Mr. Bentry Nyondo, a 3rd year student and Miss Teuka Tembo, a 4th year student. UNIMA was among the top six universities in Africa that qualified for the competition.

The competition began with fifty universities qualifying following the submission of written arguments. While in Geneva, the UNIMA team excelled in the advanced rounds and proceeded up to Round 16.

On 24th July 2023, the University of Malawi welcomed Mr. Nyondo and Miss Tembo at Chileka Airport in Blantyre after their participation in the World Human Rights Moot competition. In an interview with Nyondo, he highlighted that their performance in the competition was excellent, and they were honored to moot against some of the best law students globally. He further explained that their success in the moot is a vindication of the rigorous and serious legal education and advocacy training provided by UNIMA.

“The Geneva experience provided us with a great networking opportunity with some of the towering figures in the legal profession on a global level," he said.

Speaking with Dr. Enoch Chilemba, Senior Law lecturer and faculty representative who escorted the students, he applauded the team for their outstanding performance throughout the competition. He further highlighted that the students’ performance at the competition clearly shows that the university provides quality education to its students.

Professor Happy Kayuni, the Executive Dean of the School of Law, Economics, and Government, congratulated Mr. Nyondo and Miss Tembo for their outstanding performance at the Competition. He further explained that, as a University, they are fully convinced that the programs being delivered are of a high standard both locally and internationally.

The Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition is an annual and global competition that brings together universities from all five United Nations' regions to argue a given hypothetical case. The Moot Court is organized by the Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria.