The Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Legon (PRESEC), represented by Matthew Agyapong and Andrew Kattah, have emerged as winners of the 3rd Edition of the Ghana Secondary Schools Moot Court Competition held in Accra from the 27th to the 29th of October 2022.
PRESEC won the contest after an exciting and enthralling final held at the Court of Appeal and presided over by His Lordship Justice Jerome Noble Nkrumah, Justice of the High Court. His Lordship was joined by His Lordship Justice Kweku T. Ackaah Boafo and Her Ladyship Justice Jane Harriet Akweley Quaye who are also Justices of the High Court.
The competition held under the theme; “Enhancing civic participation and knowledge of our constitution amongst young people for personal development and nation building” saw over fifteen (15) schools participating from across the country with PRESEC, Achimota School and Legacy Girls College qualifying for a final berth.
The Competition is organized by the University of Ghana School of Law in partnership with Speech Forces Organization and is supported by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.
The moot competition aims to create greater awareness in schools and communities in Ghana about the Constitution and the values that it embodies through active participation. The aim is also to encourage talented young people to consider pursuing a law career.
This Competition provides a unique opportunity for young people to develop their research, writing and oral advocacy skills as they endeavor to come to grips with some of the constitutional issues that are presently facing our country.
This year’s edition which is the third in the series, has seen the most participation by schools as a testament to the growing number of interested persons in this novel concept in our jurisdiction. The moot is divided into written and oral rounds. All Senior High Schools in Ghana are invited to send a team of two students to submit one essay, each arguing a view of the set hypothetical question. A panel of experts evaluate the submissions and select the fifteen best submissions from all of the schools. The schools that emerge are then invited to the preliminary oral rounds held at the University of Ghana School of Law, with the winners arguing in the final round at the Court of Appeal, Accra.
The prize winners in this year’s edition include;
Winners – PRESEC, Legon
2nd Place – Legacy Girls’ College
3rd Place – Achimota School
Best Written Submission (Memorial) – Aburi Girls’ Senior High School
Overall Best Oralist – Edem Kwakyewa Nti (Alpha Beta Christian College)
Best Final Oralist – Andrew Kwasi Kattah (PRESEC)
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Justice Noble Nkrumah expressed his delight at the level of advocacy and wit displayed by the High School students and highlighted that, if the students were to pursue a career in law, he had no doubts they would excel creditably.
Also speaking at the event, Professor Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, an Associate Professor of Law and the Chairman for the Organizing Committee, noted the importance of such competitions to building the advocacy skills of young people and ensuring they have a better understanding of constitutional matters. He commended the schools and their coaches for their sterling contributions in making the event a success and assured that the next edition would be more comprehensive to include several schools. He further expressed his gratitude to the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria for sponsoring the competition and called on other stakeholders and partners to join hands to help support the initiative. He reserved a special appreciation for the Chief Justice of Ghana, His Lordship Justice Anin-Yeboah for the incredible support shown by his office towards this year’s competition and appealed for same in subsequent editions.
Mr. Eric Asamoah Awuah, Executive Director of Speech Forces Organization, in an interview after the event, said the competition and its ideals accorded with the goal of Speech Forces and thus the partnership was very much welcome. He also noted his confidence that next year’s edition would be a bigger and better one.