Two University of Fort Hare law students are preparing to jet off to England to compete in the final rounds of an international moot court competition at Oxford University in April, where they will be tested on their knowledge of international human rights law and the role of journalists.
Christian Buthelezi and Babalwa Mofokeng, who are studying at the university’s KuGompo City (previously East London) campus, will represent Fort Hare at the prestigious competition, which runs from April 13 to 17.
The pair are set to depart for Oxford on April 11.
A moot court competition brings law students together to argue points of law based on a set of facts before a panel of judges, testing their ability to deal with complex legal questions and scenarios.
The duo’s qualification for the international round follows a string of strong performances in previous competitions.
Fresh from last year’s victory over other leading universities when they won the prestigious 2025 Public Interest Law Moot Court competition at the Constitutional Court of SA, the pair continued to build on their success as they advanced through the stages of the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition.
The Dispatch previously reported on their victory last year.
After winning that moot competition, the students went on to compete against teams from other African universities, including from Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Tanzania.
The competition is contested in pairs or teams of three, which helped the two students build a strong working partnership.
“I believe we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, making us a formidable team,” Mofokeng said.
We were marked highly and that led to national oral rounds with other African countries where we underwent intense questioning and showcased our advocacy skills in order to qualify for the international rounds
— Babalwa Mofokeng, University of Fort Hare law student
Explaining their journey to the international stage, Mofokeng said the qualifying rounds were demanding but rewarding.
“The Price Media competition started with rigorous heads of drafting, where we were scrutinised and marked by esteemed judges.
“Our performance caught the attention of the selectors for the Price Media Law Moot Court Competition.
“We were marked highly and that led to national oral rounds with other African countries where we underwent intense questioning and showcased our advocacy skills in order to qualify for the international rounds.
“Upon doing exceptionally well, we thereafter qualified, and were chosen to represent Africa, internationally,” Mofokeng said.
For Buthelezi, the period before their departure is an opportunity to refine their arguments and prepare for the challenge ahead.
“Now it’s [about] going back to the drawing board.
“It is about analysing our performance, going through the score sheets, going through the comments judges have made.
“We will also try to reinforce our arguments where loopholes were identified either by people we were competing against, which are our peers, but also critiques and advice we’ve got from judges,” Buthelezi said.
Fort Hare law dean Prof Mzukisi Njotini said moot court training formed an important part of preparing students for legal practice.
“In our university, moot court is part of the training we provide our students to prepare them for legal practice.
“We have a rigorous annual internal moot competition known as the Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga Moot Court Competition [an internal competition].
“These students won in the internal competitions and their excellence is also showing in external competitions,” Njotini said.
Mofokeng said the opportunity to compete at Oxford would allow them to test themselves against some of the best young legal minds in the world.
“[It will give them] the opportunity to showcase their skills on a global stage, to grow, develop and learn from the best.”
Daily Dispatch
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