Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 12 - March 2015
It has been a pleasure leading our association and I thank you for your cooperation. I thank you for the support I have received from you and I thank you for the experiences we have shared together.
I am grateful to have known you, to have sent you emails and to have received your responses. I am indeed proud that our association has grown and now we are a network of over 400 alumni from 36 African countries, Spain and the United States of America.
In this farewell, I will like to remind you of the goal ahead of us. The goal to see an Africa that respects human rights and embraces democracy.
When I think of Africa, I think of a continent that needs to breathe more with the lungs of wise people and think more with the heads of good women and men.
(Excerpt from the Editorial)
Download Issue No 12 - March 2015
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 11 - December 2014
The Moot in Nairobi was a week-long event to remember. It was my first time in Kenya, a country much famed as one of the powerhouses of East Africa.
I do not recall at which point I fell in love with Kenya but I must say that I fell hard. Not only did it remind me of Lagos with the traffic and the organized chaos but it also gave me a reason, lots of reasons, in fact, to smile.
The University of Nairobi along with our Alma Mater hosted a brilliant moot court competition. And the icing on the cake to this wonderful experience was meeting the Kenyan alumni.
(Excerpt from the Editorial)
Download Issue No 11 - December 2014
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 10 - October 2014
In April this year, global outrage rang heavily when over 200 girls were abducted in Chibok, Nigeria by the extremist Boko Haram sect. Placards with internet-tags saying ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ from the streets of Abuja to the Red Carpet in Hollywood saturated the internet. The movement was feisty. The campaign was unwavering enough to touch a nerve with political figures.
In no time… Governments sprang to action! The beauty of international cooperation flustered! Accountability was suddenly not an illusion! Political will sailed on the mast of reality! Human rights became a movement! But in the beginning, it was not so. Boko Haram had killed scores of individuals, bombed various places including the United Nations building and international outrage was not of the same magnitude as when Chibok girls were abducted.
What happened differently? Thoughts may vary. Answers may differ. But one thing is clear: some people demanded that the girls must be brought back!
(Excerpt from the Editorial)
Download Issue No 10 - October 2014
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 9 - June 2014
Sometime last year, there was a story of a ‘standing man’ in Turkey; a man whose lone protest not only inspired many but also kindled worldwide curiosity and became a symbol of defiance to repressive rule. When the police detained a number of others who joined in for literally doing nothing, this act served to show some of the excesses in the use of state power.
One significant lesson which the story of the standing man teaches is that doing something in protest against an unpleasant situation, no matter how insignificant it may appear, can make an impact. Staring at the image of the founding father of Turkey did not unseat the government in Istanbul but it was enough to draw the eyes of the world, through the media, to a situation that required attention.
Sometimes it is that little thing that counts; that lone stand against oppression, that little advocacy on righting human wrongs, that little decision to bring about the change we desire to see in the world. The little which seems insignificant may be just about sufficient to withstand one of those wrongs on our continent.
However, the big question is: are we ready to do that little?
(Excerpt from the Editorial)
Download Issue No 9 - June 2014
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 8 - October 2013
There is an emerging intrigue to the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition that we all need to begin to watch out for and hopefully in the near future we would premiere a documentary about the active participation of alumni in the annual moot court competitions.
Significantly, at this year’s moot, four of our alumni led teams to Cape Town. Alumnus Jean-Desire Ingang-Wa-Ingange led the team from Université Libre de Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Alumna Lungowe Matakala Chishinga led the team from the University of Zambia; Alumnus Johannes Buabeng-Baidoo led the team from the University of the Gambia; while Alumnus Roopanand Mahadew led the team from the University of Mauritius. Université Libre de Kinshasa donned various glamorous hats at the moot! The team had the third best French oralist; the third best French memorial and was the second-best French team in the Moot Competition, making it to the final round. The three English teams also did well. Not only were they among the top five English speaking teams of the competition, they also had students in the top fifteen best English oralists. The University of Mauritius was among the top ten English memorials. We cannot but commend our alumni in the training of these teams.
(Excerpt from the Editorial)
Download Issue No 8 - October 2013
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 7 - June 2013
For 12 years, the Master's programme has strictly been an LLM and as such only law graduates were eligible to apply. However, this year, there is a new development. The Master's programme is now LLM/MPhil Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa. Why “MPhil,” you might ask? The answer to this question must necessarily begin with an understanding of what the realisation of human rights entails. While on the programme, I personally observed that when we talk about human rights and democratisation, we talk of disciplines beyond our legal comfort space. We talk about politics when we begin to access the benchmarks for democracy. We speak in scientific languages when we demand states to provide essential medicines. We segue into the figures of economics when we assess the argument of budgetary
implications for the realisation of socio-economic rights. We rely on journalism to provide details on the information we cannot personally gather.
(Excerpt from the Editorial)
Download Issue No 7 - June 2013
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 6 - December 2012
There should be no concern that we are increasingly been referred to as the “Pretoria Mafia” by other human rights and democracy actors in Africa and beyond. Yes, we should be proud to be mentioned as who we are: A human rights mafia. Our headquarters are at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa and we have now established country chapters in more than 15 African countries. More chapters are expected to operate in the rest of the 25 other countries in Africa, the Americas and Europe where our alumni are originally from or are based.
(Excerpt from the Editorial)
Download Issue No 6 - December 2012
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 5 - November 2012
For those of us who are in the academia, I would like to share my relative disappointment about the still fair level of knowledge of the African human rights system among young law graduates in our universities.
As I marked some memorials and attended oral pleadings of some teams during the 21st African human rights moot court competition that just took place in Maputo, Mozambique, I noticed a lack of knowledge of the African human rights system, of its law and jurisprudence.
(Excerpt from the Editorial)
Download Issue No 5 - November 2012
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 4 - May 2012
That this first issue of the year is partly devoted to the late Dr Steve Odero Ouma should certainly be no surprise to all of us.
The ‘athlete dying young’ has lived so fast to reach pinnacles of success that tributes paid by his closest friends and colleagues concurred of ‘a loss for the whole continent’.
This issue of the Alumni Newsletter, therefore, avails exclusive headings to celebrate the memory of a young promising scholar whose expertise and contribution to constitutionalism and democratisation in Africa are beyond dispute.
Download Issue No 4 - May 2012
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 3 - December 2011
While launching this newsletter in August this year, I was convinced, just as many of you, that it would eventually become the centrepiece of the Alumni Association’s work.
As you will notice in this third issue, the Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa Alumni Newsletter is not only growing in substance but also heading in the right direction. Contributions published in this issue effectively feature our newsletter as a communication channel, an advocacy tool and a miniature academic reservoir.
Download Issue No 3 - December 2011
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 2 - 2011
We are delighted to herewith publish Issue no 2 of the LLM HRDA Alumni Newsletter, Righting Wrongs, which has just appeared.
We hope to provide you with more news from these new human rights and democratisation soldiers while we unveil our end of year issue of 'Righting Wrongs' around 9 December 2011.
Righting Wrongs:
Alumni Association Newsletter
Issue No 1 - 2011
I am delighted to present you with our new baby:
The LLM HDRA Alumni Newsletter.
I have proposed that we call it 'Righting Wrongs' as it will be from now on, not only a channel to communicate and strengthen collaboration among us but also an advocacy tool for defending the rights of the voiceless in Africa and beyond.
Download Issue No 1 - 2011
This first issue was put together on your behalf by the Alumni Coordinator with the constant support of Martin Nsibirwa and Yolanda Booyzen, and under the inspiring supervision of Prof Frans Viljoen and Norman Taku. Thanks to Ismene Zarifis, Christopher Mbazira and Benson Olugbuo for their insightful comments.
A call for articles will be launched in the forthcoming weeks for all alumni to contribute in the next issue of the Alumni Newsletter to come out by the end of September 2011.
Let's take share in this tool as it belong to us all, ...
Read it, disseminate it, advertise it and sell it (don't forget to return the proceedings to the Association).
