Centre for human rights is a ‘beacon of light’ for the advancement of human rights in Africa!

It all started on that fateful morning of October 28, 2012 when I checked my yahoo mail and saw the message “I am pleased to inform you that your application to the LLM Programme has been successful…” It was indeed a moment of extreme joy and happiness as I had always longed to be a part of this great citadel of learning.  (Photo: Rashid Dumbuya, author)

Legal Practitioners that were privileged to pass through the LLM Programme have informed me about the Centre for Human Rights and its record breaking courses. As a practicing Barrister and Solicitor engaged in human rights litigation and advocacy work in Sierra Leone, I became eager to have an experience with the Centre so as to sharpen my skills and broaden my mental horizon on international human rights law, public interest litigation and advocacy work.

As a show of my desperation, I was in fact the first student who arrived in Pretoria three days prior to the arrival deadline. After some little ridicule from Eric, the administrative coordinator, I was eventually lodged at Hotel 224 awaiting the arrival of the other students. The gradual coming of my colleagues from different African countries was quite fascinating and I could still picture in my mind’s eye the first welcoming party we had in my block (1214) at South Street, Pretoria. It was quite exhilarating indeed!

My first day in class though interesting proved to be quite  challenging as well especially having heard from the various speakers about the intensive nature of the course, the French language component, the turnitin plagiarism detector device and the need for improved computer skills. I left the class discouraged but later motivated myself to set out for the challenge.

The first three months (January-March) of the course was quite challenging as I had to wake up as early as 6am to prepare for Madam Nicole’s 8am French classes and stay in the same classroom till 5pm with only an hour’s break interval. The classroom which was humorously nicknamed as ‘Guatanamobay’ became like a true replica of the ‘Guatanamobay’ prison in the USA as the course lectures and assignments began to intensify. The absence of window openings in the classroom to welcome fresh air and provide a little distraction from the intensive lectures and heated class debates; coupled with the swiping of cards to enter and exit the room made it all the more correct to nicknamed it ‘Guatanamobay prison’ even though no physical torture was administered on the students.

The month of April was quite inspirational for me amidst the plethora of assignments to be submitted, as I was privileged to visit the country of Botswana for the field trips and later Venice, Italy for the Global Classroom discussions on the ‘Millennium Development Goals and the world we want post 2015’.

With respect to my field trip to Botswana, my research was primarily centered on “the realization of the right to health of children living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana”. The one week research trip really changed my life and engendered dynamism within me. Witnessing firsthand the extent of the impact of the HIV scourge on little children in Botswana emboldened my resolved to continue on the path of human rights advocacy and public interest litigation after my graduation.

I was also privileged to be selected as part of the Pretoria team that represented the African continent in the European Union sponsored global classroom discussions on the Millennium Development Goals and the post 2015 agenda held in Venice, Italy in April 2013. The Global classroom is an initiative that seeks to bring together student representatives from among the various masters’ programme on human rights carried out from across the five continents of the world.  During the event, the African team was tasked with the responsibility of providing a comprehensive report on the successes and challenges of the health related MDG’s in Africa and to suggest plausible goals on behalf of Africa that should reflect on the post 2015 sustainable development goals agenda. It was quite a challenging and defining moment in my life as I was also required to make a presentation before the global classroom.

But apart from the formal sessions, I was also opportune to visit ancient places in Venice such as the Basilica, Lido, the Ancient Square, the Merchants of Venice trading port etc. The boat rides, the aroma of the delicious meals and wines, the romantic atmosphere, the nice crescendo of the live music bands and the friends and networks I established in Venice would certainly linger on for the rest of my life. For the very first time, I was also privileged to visit Holland and France as we enroute to and from Italy respectively.

For the second semester university destinations, I was allocated to Mauritius which coincidentally was my first choice as well.  It was indeed a dream come true as I had always desired Mauritius as a honeymoon destination when I eventually got wedded to my wife. Hence, having a pre-visit experience was indeed welcoming and timely especially to wet my appetite and increase my momentum for my proposed honeymoon visit. Apparently however, since my research was based on a critical examination of the free healthcare programme of Sierra Leone, it was expedient that I had Mauritius as a choice since it is one of the few countries in African that maintains a successful and sustainable free healthcare system.

My stay in Mauritius was quite beneficial, enjoyable and worthwhile.  Apart from the public lectures held to the university law students, I also assisted in the preparation of the University of Mauritius mooters to the African moot court competition where they eventually emerged in the fourth place with the 6^th best synopsis of arguments. I also was attached to the Equal Opportunities Commission of Mauritius for my internship. The experience was quite memorable as I participated in the live proceedings of the Equal Opportunities Tribunal. It was also an achievement to be a part of the first anniversary celebration of the Mauritius Equal Opportunities Commission.

Apart from the formal work, I also had time for fun in the wonderful, clean and natural beaches in Mauritius. I  made several visits with past alumni’s to tourist attraction sites such as Blue Bay, Rochester falls, Alexandra falls, the Hindu worshipped centre, to name but a few. Mauritian delicacies such as ‘briyanni ’, chicken curry and ‘samosa’ became my favorite meals throughout my stay despite their spiciness. I learnt the practicality of reasonable accommodation firsthand.  Witnessing the Hindu Diwali festival (festival of lights) also made the journey quite momentous. Apart from the lightning decorations, sweet cakes of all types were served on me and I could hardly resist them due to their colorfulness and splendour. The friendship and hospitality of the Mauritian people will never be forgotten in a hurry.

In the 2013 LLM/MPHIL programme, I also became the beneficiary of the Jill Jacot scholarship bursary award, a donation I shall always be grateful for as it helped me out tremendously in focusing my attention fully on the course. The friendship and camaraderie I encountered on the programme cannot be over-emphasized. It would surely outlast my memory indeed!

To put it all in perspective, the LLM/MPHIL Programme in human rights and democratisation has represented a much bigger challenge for me and further afforded me an opportunity to acquire regional and global experiences to subsequently influence at the national level. Today, my academic horizon and global perspective on human rights have been broadened due to my interaction with the Centre and its intensive lectures, advance human rights courses and moot court trainings. At the end of it all, I can confidently say that there is no better institution out there I will recommend to anyone with a desire and quest for human rights knowledge and training other than the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria.

In conclusion, this opportunity has fundamentally satisfied my personal ambition. The future they say, probably belongs to people who see possibilities before they become obvious. It belongs to those very travelers who pierce through the clouds of oblivion with the force of their determination; and in a country where only a small percentage of lawyers have an advance law degree, it has given me great personal satisfaction to join that number. I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL.

By Rashid Dumbuya

**Rashid Dumbuya ESQ is an International Human Rights Lawyer and a practicing Barrister and Solicitor from the Republic of Sierra Leone. Rashid holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws honors degree from Fourah Bay College University of Sierra Leone as well as a Master of Laws degree in International Human Rights Law from the Centre for Human Rights University of Pretoria, South Africa. He has worked for the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone and the UNDP Access to Justice Office in Freetown and is currently an LLM candidate pursuing Petroleum Law and Policy at the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom.

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