Pretoria – Kenya’s Strathmore University has been crowned the overall winner of the 17th Africa Regional Round of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition, held on Tuesday at the Casa Toscana Convention Centre in Pretoria, South Africa.
The two-day competition brought together university law students from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe to argue complex hypothetical disputes in international space law before a simulated International Court of Justice, with the event held under the theme “Empowering Africa’s Future in Space Governance for Sustainable Space Activities.”
South Africa’s University of Pretoria walked away as first runner-up, while Augustine Mudzodza from Zimbabwe’s Midlands State University received the Best Oralist Award. Kabarak University of Kenya claimed the Best Memorial Award. 
The competition was hosted by South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition in partnership with the South African National Space Agency and industry stakeholders including Dragonfly Aerospace Systems, NewSpace Systems, Petrawell and Newcraft.
Presiding over the final round, Kenya’s Court of Appeal President, Justice Daniel Kiio Musinga, praised the standard of advocacy on display throughout the proceedings.
“I am persuaded that the future of African international lawyering is in very good hands. It is not elsewhere, it is right in this room,” said Justice Musinga.
He also called on the continent’s emerging legal generation to move beyond token participation in global governance.
“For most of its history, that architecture has been built by hands other than ours. The work of this generation is to convert our seats at the table from courtesy into authorship,” he said.
Addressing the finalists directly, Justice Musinga told the students their presence carried weight far beyond their individual universities.
“You do not represent only your institutions tonight, you represent five African nations, and through them a continent,” he added.
Strathmore University’s winning team will now represent Africa at the global finals later this year in Türkiye, during the International Astronautical Congress.
Speaking after the announcement, team member Megan Wanjiru Nsuguna said the road to victory had been anything but easy.
“The preparations for this started in December last year. It has been quite crazy, with lots of sleepless nights, but today was a validation that your work pays at the end of the day. Nothing goes unnoticed,” said Nsuguna.
She described the competition as an enriching experience, saying competing against talented students from across the continent “became an exchange of ideas and perspectives, which was very interesting.”
Nsuguna, who has developed a growing interest in air and space law, also had words of encouragement for young Africans, including those in Eswatini, considering a career in law.
“Do it scared, do it when you do not know anything, just do it. If you put your mind into something, do it, and if you are doing it, be the best at it,” she said.
Participating students are also attending the African Space Policy and Law Conference, co-hosted by the University of Pretoria and McGill University from 28 to 29 May 2026, where international and continental policymakers, academics, regulators and industry leaders are deliberating on developments in international space governance and Africa’s strategic role within the global space economy.
