Introducing ‘Mooting’: African Moot and the UP Moot Society

The UP Moot Society recently hosted a film screening of the acclaimed documentary African Moot in the Centre for Human Rights building to promote the centre’s legal work in human rights in Africa. The society, which works closely with the Centre for Human Rights, participates in ‘mooting’; in other words, they compete against other university teams to debate issues of human rights in a simulated court environment.

African Moot follows several teams of law students from across the African continent who converge at the University of Botswana to participate in the African Human Rights Moot Competition, or the ‘African Moot’. The students must debate the issues of refugee and LGBTQIA+ rights in two fictional African countries. Competition is fierce, which leads to several tense moments between contestants that will be impactful even to an audience who is unfamiliar with mooting. The documentary also raises many important points about refugee rights, LGBTQIA+ issues in an African context, and the idea of ‘pan-Africanism’ as a whole. All in all, the documentary delivers an engrossing look into the lives of African law students, their personal and professional struggles, and the issues that they study and debate in order to carve a better and more equal future for all African citizens.

The UP Moot Society will represent the university at this year’s African Moot, which is to be held in Ghana. Any prospective lawyer who wishes to leave their mark on the legal world would be welcome in the society. Those who are interested in a gripping look into the future of human rights work in Africa are encouraged to seek out African Moot on the free streaming service afridocs.net.

Crossword

Across

3. Unscramble the anagram for the name of a famous actress: bridge glow hoop

4. Magical cup sought after in Arthurian legend

5. Longest bone in the body

7. Animal on R100 note

8. Bird with a loud call typically found on campus.

12. Another name for a murder mystery.

14. Gemstone sought by Jacques Clouseau

15. Liquid courage

Down

1. Greek figure who continuously rolls a boulder up a hill

2. Fear of spiders

3. Day of the week and name of a Netflix series

6. Arcade game with a yellow protagonist

9. Name of PDBY’s editor

10. Property game that has ruined many a family

11. Name of a flower and a national South African sports team

13. Scientist who formulated the laws of gravity