Two learners from Ndabakazi Senior Secondary School in Butterworth, Likhanye Madikane (Grade 10) and Milani Sese (Grade 11), were crowned champions in the National School Moot Court Competition held in Gauteng last week.
According to their coach and educator, Qaqamba Gomba, there is a programme called Moot Court where schools are given a problem statement to analyse.
He explained that this programme involves participants taking on the roles of the accused, complainant, attorneys/advocates, prosecutor, and judges.
“When the problem statement is issued, schools are asked to write essays about the complainant and the accused. These essays are sent to the province, where the top 20 essays are selected. From there, they are forwarded to the national level in Pretoria for further evaluation.
“The top 10 essays are then chosen, and those students participate in the court proceedings,” Gomba explained.
He added that after the essays are submitted, the case is prepared for oral rounds before the judges.
He confirmed that one stage of this process took place at Rhodes University in Grahamstown in September.
According to him, in this process, two schools are paired against each other.
For instance, if Ndabankulu is defending the accused, another school will represent the complainant.
“We secured first place, followed by Mthatha High School in second, Mida School in Dutywa in third, and Victoria Girls’ High School in Grahamstown in fourth place. These were the schools that represented the Eastern Cape.”
In Gauteng, the Eastern Cape teams competed against 32 other schools from different provinces.
The first round took place on 27 September, and from the initial 32, 16 schools advanced to the semi-finals.
Among them were Ndabankulu, Victoria Girls’ High, and Mthatha High. Gomba confirmed that in the Top 16, they selected four schools to advance to the final round.
The finalists included schools from the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng.
“The final round was held at the Constitutional Court in Gauteng in front of 14 judges. We were paired with a school from Gauteng, with both of us representing the accused, while the schools from Northern Cape and Mpumalanga represented the complainant. Both Gauteng and our school secured first place.”
Gomba expressed his happiness and gratitude, emphasising that he did not work alone.
He appreciated the support from the Principal of Zazulwana Senior Secondary School in Butterworth, Thobela Gabelana, as well as Advocates Zincedile Tiya, Koliti Asanda, Dumisani Sikoti, Dr Lunga Xolosa Mantashe, Attorneys Abongile Nkamisa, Bazolile Sihlali, Abongile Matomane, Provincial Coach Tuka Justice Moeketsi, and Provincial Coach Mthokozisi Mbixane.
One of the winners, Likhanye Madikane, said she feels blessed because her dedication to the competition paid off.
Her message to her peers was that they can achieve great things, but they must prioritise what’s important first.
