Kenya, Uganda law students to engage in moot court competition on electoral privacy

The competition, themed "Safeguarding Electoral Integrity: Upholding Voter Privacy in Democratic Processes", began with a pre-moot conference for stakeholders at the university. This event set the stage for a series of preliminary rounds in which law students from Kenya and Uganda will compete.

A moot court is a mock court where law students argue hypothetical cases for practice. The competition aims to foster rigorous legal discussions among universities from Kenya and Uganda on privacy issues in electoral processes.

Kenyan teams will compete in Nairobi on Friday, September 13, while their Ugandan counterparts will face off in Kampala on September 16.

The top four universities from each country will advance to the quarter-finals, slated for September 19.

The grand finale, including the semi-finals and finals, will take place on September 20 at Daystar University's grounds. The winning team will receive a trophy, USD 1,000 (Ksh 129,000), and a trip to the 6th Privacy Symposium Africa, scheduled for November in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The symposium offers a unique platform for participants from across Africa and the globe to meet, connect, discuss, and exchange ideas on data protection and privacy.

Speaking at the launch event, ICJ Kenya Programme Manager Julie Wayua Matheka emphasized the need to prioritize voter privacy in democratic systems, given the busy election calendar in Africa for 2024, which includes elections in Botswana, Namibia, Somaliland, Ghana, and South Sudan, among others.

"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 noted, acknowledging that elections are increasingly becoming technology-driven.

"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."

Unwanted Witness Head of Legal, Sempala Allan Kigozi, highlighted the importance of analyzing the role and responsibilities of stakeholders in respecting the right to privacy within the established 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.