On Thursday, Ugandan civil society organization Unwanted Witness, in collaboration with the International Commission of Jurists Kenya (ICJ Kenya), kicked off its annual inter-university moot court competition at Daystar University in Nairobi.
The competition, with the theme “Safeguarding Electoral Integrity: Upholding Voter Privacy in Democratic Processes,” began with a pre-moot conference at the university. This event marked the start of preliminary rounds where law students from Kenya and Uganda will engage in debates.
A moot court is a simulated court where law students argue hypothetical cases as practice. This competition aims to stimulate rigorous legal discussions among universities in Kenya and Uganda on privacy concerns within electoral processes.
Kenyan teams will compete in Nairobi on Friday, September 13, while Ugandan teams will compete in Kampala on September 16. The top four universities from each country will advance to the quarter-finals scheduled for September 19.
The grand finale, including the semi-finals and finals, will take place on September 20 at Daystar University. The winning team will be awarded a trophy, USD 1,000 (Ksh 129,000), and a trip to the 6th Privacy Symposium Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe, in November. This symposium provides a platform for participants from across Africa and the globe to connect, discuss, and exchange ideas on data protection and privacy.
Julie Wayua Matheka, ICJ Kenya Programme Manager, spoke at the launch, stressing the importance of prioritizing voter privacy amid Africa’s busy election calendar for 2024, which includes elections in Botswana, Namibia, Somaliland, Ghana, and South Sudan.
“Two-thirds of these elections are packed into the last quarter of the year. Many of these countries will deploy technology for one purpose or another,” she said. “Technology in elections must be transparent. The vacuum of misunderstanding about technology, compounded by political disinformation and misinformation, can sow distrust in the electoral process, the exact opposite outcome that the use of technology in elections is trying to achieve.”
Sempala Allan Kigozi, Head of Legal at Unwanted Witness, emphasized the need to analyze stakeholders’ roles in respecting privacy rights within the existing legal framework for data protection. “Now that we have offices and laws, it is high time parliament amends election laws to include privacy safeguards. Once this is in place in election management laws, then you are guaranteed to have a good process that will uphold democracy,” he said.
Additionally, Daystar University Vice Chancellor Prof. Laban Ayiro expressed hope that the competition will provide students with valuable exposure to legal issues, enabling them to grow as young legal minds.
