Today was our visit to Tumaini University Makumira to see their law school program and have a Moot Court debate that paired two Willamette students with two of their students. The topic of the debate was a recent Tanzanian decision in their High Court that would raise the minimum age of marriage of women from 16 to 18 years old. The minimum age for men is already set at 18 years old. The law school system is different in Tanzania than it is in the United States, the students we visited with today are in an undergrad program and those that want to become licensed attorneys will need to complete a post grad degree. There are many differences compared to Willamette Law, but for being undergrads in a totally different program, it was really fun to talk to the students about their passion for law. They were very curious to learn about us and what we’re doing.
Our
visit started with a meeting with Dr. Benedict Maige Nchalla, the Dean of the
Law School program as well as the founding member of the faculty and former
judge, Professor John Ruhangisa, along with the students that would be
participating in the debate. They briefed us on how the debate would go and
what to expect. James and Sarah S. bravely volunteered to do the debate that
would be in front of over 300 students. Professor Buske offered Sarah G. to be
the presiding judge of the debate because it was her birthday and seemed like
the appropriate choice. They all split off with the students they’d be working
with and the rest of us went with a student, David, to take a tour of the
school and property, going to different classes and introducing ourselves. It’s
a beautiful campus and we got to see the dorms where most students and faculty
live, the library, cafeteria, and the Cultural Arts Center that has an amazing
music and dance program.
The
students on the tour returned to the classroom that would host the debate.
While waiting for the debate and everyone involved to get there, Professor
Buske engaged with the 300 students in the room and had those on the tour talk
about our laws for marriage in the United States. We talked about how there are
different age requirements depending on which state you live in and that the
minimum age is generally 18 years old, but some states allow marriage at 16.
That concept of different states having different laws instead of a universal
age for the country was a little hard for some to grasp. But one student
pointed out that the students in the room represent over 120 different tribes
in Tanzania, each with slightly different cultural norms so the concept wasn’t
totally foreign to them.
When
the debate was ready to begin, the participating students came into the room
dressed in black robes and made quite the entrance. After the introduction by
the presiding judge, Sarah G, each side had 30 minutes to present their case followed
by a 15-minute rebuttal for the proponents. Even though everyone had a minimal
amount of time to prep for this debate, they all did a great job and our
Willamette classmates said they really enjoyed working with the Makumira
students. We all felt so welcomed by the students and faculty and it was a very
unique and cool experience for us. Professor Buske taught here many years ago
and it was a great idea to incorporate this into the trip to get a better
understanding of what legal education looks like in Tanzania.
We finished the day with a full tour of the campus with everyone and we got to sit in a Business and Human Rights class taught by the Dean. He had us compare some of our experiences relating to that topic in America and the students were able to ask us questions. It was interesting to get an idea of what classes are like and how the material is taught. We also got to visit with the music students and sit in on a jam session in their outdoor auditorium. It was beautiful music and they even worked in a birthday song for Sarah. After the tour we went to a nearby restaurant where we met with the students and faculty that participated in the debate and handed out awards. It was a great way to finish a wonderful day!