University of the Witwatersrand top winners in Addis Ababa contest

By Zelda Venter, The Star | September 4, 2006

The French team which won this year came from the University of Gaston Berger, St Louis, in Senegal. A French and an English team are each year appointed as joint overall winners of the competition.

Students from 61 universities locked horns over human rights issues over the past week in Addis Ababa and law students from various universities across the African continent argued a hypothetical human rights case in mock courtrooms at the Addis Ababa University, which hosted this year's event.

Four universities had to battle it out in the final round. They also had the honour of the chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Alpha Oumar Konare, awarding them their prizes.

Two students from Wits and two from the university in Senegal teamed up in the final round and competed against the universities of Cairo and Malawi. The two teams argued HIV/Aids-related issues before a panel of highly acclaimed judges. They included Justice Yvonne Mokgoro of South Africa's Constitutional Court; Rita Makarau, the newly appointed judge president of Zimbabwe; and Julia Joiner, commissioner for political affairs at the AU.

All the judges agreed after the final round that this year's arguments were of a particular high standard. "I can die tomorrow and I will know Africa is in good hands," Justice Mokgoro said after hearing the teams. Makarau remarked that the presentations were of such a high standard that they had exceeded her expectations.

The Wits students - Abigail Dymond and Fatima Bham - were thrilled with their victory. "We are very excited. We are also proud to have represented South Africa on the African continent. We have learnt a lot over the past few days."

South Africa as a whole did very well at this year's competition. The University of Cape Town came second in the English rounds, with the University of Johannesburg taking fifth place. Rhodes University came in sixth and the University of Stellenbosch took eighth place.

Jeremy Raizon of the University of Cape Town said he would take valuable experiences back home with him.

victors: Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, President Alpha Oumar Konare (centre), presents the prizes to the winners. From left is Fataou Ba Sene (Senegal), Abigail Dymond and Fatima Bham (South Africa) and Aboubakry Niang (Senegal).Picture: Zelda Venter