In a stunning display of legal skill and confidence, two first-year students from the Liberia School of Law (LSL) have put the country’s fledgling institution on the map by capturing the top prize at the maiden ECOWAS Moot Court Competition in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Peace Khasu and Abigail Dorbor, coached by Professor Gerald D. Yeakula, represented Liberia in the August 13–16 contest and walked away as champions alongside teammates from Côte d’Ivoire’s Felix Houphouet-Boigny University. The victory marks a historic milestone for LSL, which only opened its doors in November last year and is still less than a year old.
A Case Before the ECOWAS Court of Justice
The competition gathered law students from across West, Central, and East Africa to argue a hypothetical case before the ECOWAS Court of Justice. At issue was whether official corruption and the tolerance of harmful cultural practices could amount to justiciable violations of human rights and treaty obligations under the charters of the United Nations, the African Union, and ECOWAS.
Liberia’s journey to the final was not without drama. The LSL team advanced from the preliminary round after Nigeria forfeited, then battled Kenya’s African Nazarene University in a fiercely contested round that ended in a tie but earned both teams a place in the final.
The championship was designed to unite Anglophone and Francophone schools into mixed teams. Liberia was paired with Côte d’Ivoire, while Kenya joined the University of Bukavu from the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the final, the Liberia/Côte d’Ivoire team prevailed in what observers described as a spirited and hard-fought contest.
Rising Stars in the Legal Arena
Despite competing against more senior students — many of them in their second and third years — Liberia’s first-year duo quickly became the talk of the competition. Their sharp reasoning and courtroom presence impressed judges and audiences alike, earning them the responsibility of opening arguments for their combined team in the final.
One of the presiding judges, Hon. Abdoulaye Ben Mette, a member of Côte d’Ivoire’s National Assembly and former legal counsel to President Alassane Ouattara, singled out Khasu for praise, naming her the Second-Best Advocate of the entire competition with a score of 89.1.
“Peace, when we saw you, we didn’t know what to expect. In fact, we didn’t expect much. But when you took the stand, you commanded respect, authority, and your presence was intimidating,” he remarked. “You are born to be a lawyer.”
Pride for Liberia’s New Law School
The victory is a major boost for the Liberia School of Law, which is only the second law school in the country since formal legal education began more than 70 years ago.
“I could not be prouder of Peace and Abigail for their brilliant job,” said LSL President Kwame Clement. He credited their success to “the hard work, excellent mentoring, and good coaching” of Prof. Yeakula, and expressed gratitude to the Board of Trustees, including Paul Mandell and Joy Isibor Nosegbe, as well as Board Chairman, retired Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, Sr., for supporting the team’s journey to Abidjan.
A New Generation of Legal Minds
For a school barely one year old, LSL’s triumph in a regional competition of this caliber is no small feat. It signals that Liberia’s newest law school has the potential not only to train lawyers but to produce regional champions.
And for Khasu and Dorbor, their victory serves as a reminder that brilliance does not wait for seniority — even first-year law students can hold their own on the biggest stages.
