Ms Sanelisiwe Shangase, winner of the 47th Ellie Newman Memorial Moot Court Competition, was pleasantly surprised to be the victor of the competition.

This is a flagship moot court competition of the School of Law that is aimed at familiarising LLB students with various aspects of litigation and courtroom procedure. Four finalists Mr Aston Gevers, Mr Neville Naidoo, Ms Preshanta Poonan and Ms Sanelisiwe Shangase argued two cases before three judges of the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court namely the Honourable Mr Justice Gregory Kruger and the Honourable Madam Justices Yvonne Mbatha and Jacqueline Henriques.

On her achievement, Shangase said: ‘When I was presented with the case as a finalist, it was overwhelming but I made sure I researched everything thoroughly.’ Shangase plans to combine her Law degree with Commerce because she believes there is a gap in this field. ‘It is my dream to have a business consultation company,’ she said.

Commenting on the quality of the presentation by the four finalists the Honourable Mr Justice Kruger commended UKZN Law academics for sharpening the students’ research and advocacy skills which are essential skills for individuals who are on the verge of joining the legal fraternity.

Other UKZN Law students have participated in various Moot Competitions including the 27th African Human Rights Moot Court Competition which was held in Ghana and the 9th Annual Child Law Moot Court Competition of the Centre for Child Law hosted by the University of Pretoria.

The Dean and Head of the School of Law, Professor Managay Reddi, said the Moot Court procedure was an important part of legal education and thanked the Moot Competition Advisory committee and Functions committee for their inputs towards making the event a success.

Words: Norma Jele and Hazel Langa