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On 4 and 6 November 2013 the first Southern African Disability Rights Moot Court Competition was held as part of a Centre-hosted conference on the rights of persons with disabilities in Africa. Five universities from Southern Africa were invited to participate in the moot including: Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (Mozambique), University of Zambia (Zambia), Midlands State University (Zimbabwe), University of Dodoma (Tanzania) and Chancellor College (Malawi).

Participants had to argue the hypothetical case of Fefe, a 20 year old disabled woman and citizen of Thutoland who was forced to undergo an abortion due to the fact that her unborn child would have been born with Down syndrome. The Abortion Code of Thutoland which provides for these measures in case of such a pregnancy was challenged by the applicants in the case, the NGO Hope for Thutoland. In the preliminary rounds competition was strife and arguments were heard by the various faculty representatives of the universities.

During the final round on the 6th of November, the two opposing teams made their final submissions in front of a panel of distinguished legal scholars and practitioners such as Justice Zak Yacoob (Former Justice of the Constitutional Court), Judge Monica Mbaru (Judge of the High Court of Kenya), Professor Francisco Bariffi (Mar del Plata University, Argentina), Ms Orquidea Massarongo (Representative, Eduardo Mondlane) and Ms Tirza Leibowitz (Open Society Initiative).

After two days of rigorous competition the University of Zambia emerged as the overall winners with Midlands State University being declared as the runners up. The best memorial prize was won by the team from the University of Zambia and the overall best speaker was Mr Mudenda Lumumba from the University of Zambia. The Centre would like to congratulate all participants on their outstanding performance throughout the competition. 

Rankings: Top 5 Teams

  1. University of Zambia (64.788)
  2. Midlands State University, Zimbabwe (64.288)
  3. Chancellors College, Malawi (60.725)
  4. Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique (60.388)
  5. University of Dodoma, Tanzania (53.713)

Rankings: Top 3 Mermorials

  1. University of Zambia (67.5)
  2. Midlands State University, Zimbabwe (67)
  3. Chancellors College, Malawi (66.5)

Rankings: Top 5 Oralists

  1. Lumamba Mudenda, University of Zambia (22.93 out of 35)
  2. Daphne Natsai Maruta, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe (22.66 out of 35)
  3. Muchinda Muma, University of Zambia (21,61 out of 35)
  4. Dingani  Knowledge, Midlands State University, Zimbabwe (21.53 out of 35)
  5. Daisy Nogueira, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique (21.44 out of 35)