Equality Now, in collaboration with the SOAWR Coalition and Kenyatta University School of Law, hosted the 3rd edition of the Africa Gender Equality Moot Court Competition (AGEMCC) from July 2024 to December 2024. This continent-wide competition, conducted in French and English, seeks to nurture the interest of the next generation of lawyers in women’s and girls’ rights in Africa, emphasizing the role of continental and international human rights instruments.
The Competition challenged students to engage in comparative research on legal standards and develop arguments on the intersection between women’s and girls’ rights in Africa and international law, leveraging their country’s legal and social contexts to address challenges in promoting and protecting women’s and girls’ rights. The 3rd AGEMCC spotlighted the legal complexities of commercial surrogacy in Africa, a practice facilitated by scientific and technological progress and exacerbated by the lack of comprehensive national legal frameworks governing surrogacy arrangements in Africa, where it is currently in its infancy stage.
Learn more about the 2024 theme, team and key details such as the hypothetical case.
This year’s competition took on a hybrid format, blending tech enabled innovation for the virtual preliminary and quarter finals with an in-person convening in Kenyatta University School of Law for the semi-finals and finals in early December 2024. Garnering attention from across the continent, the competition received 450+ responses from 100 universities across 24 countries.
The University of Nairobi, represented by Mwebia Dickson Gitonga and Mwiti Edna Nkirote from Kenya emerged as the best overall team, Anglophone while the title of best overall team Francophone was taken by Joël Minani and Nyabintu Zigabe Sarah of Université Officielle de Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The best orators in the 2024 edition were also recognised, with Mwebia Dickson Gitonga clinching the title for Best Orator, Francophone and Nyabintu Zigabe Sarah taking the Francophone component title. Naomi Kathamba from Africa Nazarene and Juste-Chris Setangni, Université Officielle de Bukavu were first runner up orators in the Anglophone and Francophone category respectively.
From 42 submitted memorials, the team from University of Zimbabwe won Best Anglophone Memorial, with the team from Africa Nazarene following behind as the first runners up. The Best Francophone memorial went to Université Officielle de Bukavu, with Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny taking the first runners up title.
A special note of appreciation to our highly distinguished expert judges, who offered their expertise, insights, feedback and advice freely, to the betterment of the participants, the theme and the competition outcomes.
Our judges in the finals included:
1. Aminata Fall;
2. Dr. Ezéchiel Amani Cirimwami;
3. Dr. Olanike Adelakun;
4. Dr. Olayinka Adeniyi;
5. Dr. Sègnonna Horace;
6. Flavia Mwangovya;
7. Justice (rtd) Nancy Baraza;
8. Justice Yvonne Léopoldine Akoa;
9. Nadia Ben Khalifa;
10. Prof. Pacifique Manikariza.
Learn more about past competition award winners and judges.
To keep up with the 2024 edition highlights, follow us on our Equality Now Africa X channel, you can also watch the YouTube live streams.
About the organisers
Equality Now
Equality Now, founded in 1992, is an international women’s rights organization that works to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world, with a focus on ending sexual violence, harmful practices, sexual exploitation, and achieving legal equality. Combining grassroots activism with international, regional, and national legal advocacy, Equality Now’s approach links high-level policy advocacy and global activism with support and legal advice to grassroots partners and networks working on specific cases of women and girls in order to promote change at all levels.
The Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) Coalition
The Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) is a coalition of over 70 national, regional, and international civil society organizations working on women’s rights in over 30 African countries. SOAWR was formed with the principal objective of advocating for the ratification, domestication, and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol).
Kenyatta University School of Law
Kenyatta University School of Law is a fully accredited School by the Council of Legal Education, Kenya that offers Bachelor of Laws Programme. Established on 29th February 2012 and with a vision of being a premier Law School educating legal entrepreneurs of conscience, competence, and compassion with the ability to meet the challenges of leadership and the administration of justice in Africa and beyond, the School aims at providing legal writing and research skills to the highest standards through developing cutting-edge capacity building, promoting holistic student development and increasing sensitivity to community needs in order to ensure global competitiveness.
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