Reflections on the Inaugural East Africa Vis Pre-Moot, Nairobi 2022
The Inaugural East African Pre-Moot was held in Nairobi, Kenya at Strathmore University from 16 to 19 February 2022. It was organized and sponsored by Jones Day, Africa in the Moot, the GIZ, and the Fleischer Foundation. A total of eight universities participated in the Pre-Moot. These included: the University of Nairobi, University of Lesotho, University Eduardo Mondlane, University of Pretoria, Addis Ababa University, University of Rwanda, Strathmore University and finally Mzumbe University.
When I got news about the Inaugural East Africa Pre-Moot, I was elated. I was proud to represent the University of Nairobi in this unique event. Kenya was honored to host six universities in one of the most exquisite hotels in Nairobi, the Tamarind. The teams would then commute to Strathmore Law School where the Pre-Moot was to take place.
On the first and second day, the 16th and 17th February, we first convened in a lecture hall before moving to our break-out rooms for more training. I received vast training and lectures by previous successful Vis Moot participants, arbitrators and lawyers both from Africa and the rest of the world, notably John Paul Putney and Sheila Shadmand from Jones Day and Fenan Estifanos and Efat Elsherif who were previous Vis Moot participants who performed successfully at the 28th Vis Moot. The trainings shed light on the issues arising from the problem and explored the various arguments that we as participants could put forward. These one-on-one sessions were very beneficial for my research and in advancing my mooting and presentation skills.
The esteemed Anjarwalla and Khanna Law firm hosted the teams at their office in Westlands, Nairobi in the evening of 17th February where the organizers had scheduled a meet and greet with prominent lawyers and arbitrators in Kenya. It was a great opportunity for the teams to socialize and interact. I personally got the chance to network with some of the most successful lawyers in the city that I would not have imagined ever meeting, thanks to this Pre-Moot. I also got the chance to interact with other team members and shared experiences about each other's countries.
The teams got to plead on the third day in Strathmore where, after a zealous competition, Addis Ababa University, Strathmore University, University of Pretoria and my team, the University of Nairobi, proceeded to the elimination rounds. I was a bit nervous at first during both my pleadings because I felt the pressure of saying the right things to the arbitrators. However, as I went on making my submissions, I got better because all that rang in my mind were the many comments and demonstrations of how to plead, especially in arbitration, that I received during the first two days of the conference. It felt like riding a bike, although I must admit, I am still practicing and working even harder in order to get better during the actual Vis competition.
Later on in the evening, we were hosted at Carnivore, a famous restaurant in Nairobi. We got to dine together and interact. The organizers then proceeded to naming the best oralists and announcing the finalists. Three of the most memorable moments of that night were the surprise birthday party that the organizers threw for a team member from Mzumbe, the tremendous singing performance by John Paul Putney, and the delicious food we were served. On the 19th of February which was the last day of the pre-moot, the final rounds were held between Strathmore university and the University of Pretoria where the latter won the competition. We got to be the audience and experience the two teams appearing before a very tough tribunal and how they both seamlessly answered the questions.
After the Pre-Moot, my teammate and I had the honor to take the University of Lesotho team on a tour around the city. We visited places like the Nairobi National Orphanage, the Maasai Market and even went bowling. They were so excited about how beautiful Nairobi is and how they would like to visit again. We would have liked to tour around more teams but, unfortunately, they all had really limited time to catch their planes back to their countries.
I would like to thank the organizers of the Pre-Moot for the amazing work and dedication they have to train and mentor African Vis Moot team members. The Pre-Moot was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that changed my life. I personally liked how the trainers were all-hands-on-deck with us with the objective to see us get the problem question right and fine-tune our submissions. I was so excited to see representatives of Africa in the Moot and associates from Jones Day in person, and not to mention the many friends I made. I not only gained better advocacy and research skills but also inter-personal skills and a vast amount of networking. As a Kenyan, University of Nairobi team member, I say thank you - Asante!
