Arguing their point wins award for Western Cape student law team

A team of law students from the University of the Western Cape comprising Yolanda Bam-Mguye‚ Bongiwe Mabena and Kamvelihle Rubulana has won recognition at an African Moot competition held in Arusha‚ Tanzania.

The moot competition is a staged court of law that makes use of mock trials and debates‚ the university explained in a statement.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) International Humanitarian Law Competition awarded them the Honourary Henry Dunant Prize at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The award is allocated to the team that best exemplifies the values of the ICRC - Red Crescent Movement and the Founder‚ Henry Dunant‚ who was the first person to ever be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

An award went to Bam-Mguye‚ from Oakglen in Bellville‚ for being the third best speaker of the internal rounds of this completion.

Mabena‚ from Kempton Park‚ Johannesburg‚ who moved to Cape Town to pursue her LLB degree‚ was pleased at the opportunity to travel to another African country.

"My favourite part of the Moot was when we visited the African court‚ which is the highest court in our continent. We were told about the history of the court and we were given the opportunity to meet the African Court’s honourable judges."

She aspires to one day become a judge at the Constitutional Court. "This really is one of my biggest dreams ever‚" she said.

Dr Angelo Dube‚ a senior lecturer at UWC‚ said his role as coach was to "pay it forward so that one day they too will be able help someone else rise to the next level".

"This is what ubuntu demands of us. It's the African spirit in us that keeps nudging us to do good‚ because inherently we are good people. So my investment in moot coaching is in trying to help young legal minds realise their potential and to nurture that potential to fruition."