Cavendish University Uganda Roars To Glory At Uganda’s Inaugural National Sports Arbitration Moot

They came. They argued. They conquered.

In a legal arena crackling with courtroom energy and the quiet ferocity of minds sharpened to a fine edge, Cavendish University Uganda walked into the inaugural National Sports Arbitration Moot 2026, stared down the giant that is Makerere University in the final round, and walked out as champions.

The scoreline told its own unflinching story: 267 points to 248. Nineteen points. Enough to separate giants. Enough to etch Cavendish’s name permanently into the first page of a competition that will, from this day forward, have to reckon with the White and Blue.

Fifteen universities entered the arena, each carrying the hopes of their Law faculties, their coaches, and their institutions. Gulu University, Kampala International University, Bishop Stuart University, Islamic University in Uganda, Kabale University, Nkumba University, International University of East Africa, and a host of others added their voices to what was, by any measure, a landmark moment for sports dispute resolution in Uganda.

The competition case focused on legal issues of player eligibility and match manipulation. The theme that united them – Strengthening Engagement in Sports Dispute Resolution in Uganda – was no mere conference-room platitude. In a country where sport increasingly means economic strength and conflict, the lawyers and arbitrators of tomorrow were being forged in real time, right before the eyes of a judiciary and a sporting fraternity that watched with more than passing interest.

As the rounds wore on and the weaker arguments fell away like leaves before a Kampala windy afternoon, two universities stood tall above the rest. Cavendish and Makerere — one the young lion, hungry and unencumbered by the weight of expectation; the other the old pride, carrying every title and tradition in Ugandan academia on its broad shoulders. When they met in the final, the room knew it was witnessing something worth remembering.

Three distinguished arbiters of the legal craft presided over the final round with the seriousness the occasion demanded. Counsel Timothy Kaija, Chairman of Young African Leaders in Sport, brought the lens of continental sports governance. Counsel Fidel M. Otafiire, Founder of Mashariki Sports and Entertainment Advisory, brought the sharp instincts of a practitioner who has navigated the complex intersection of law and sport across the region. Counsel Leslie Laker, Compliance Officer at the National Council for Sports, brought the authority of institutional oversight. Together, they listened, they scored, and in the end, they confirmed what the audience in that room had already begun to sense, that the team from Cavendish had argued not merely well, but beautifully.

At the heart of Cavendish’s triumph stood four individuals who deserve to have their names spoken slowly and with appreciation. Mr. Mawejje Alvin argued with the controlled authority of a barrister twice his age. Mr. Mugisha Echo and Mr. Masolo Adrian, serving as researchers, built the intellectual architecture upon which the team’s arguments stood — the unseen foundation without which no legal structure holds. And then there was Ms. Nabaggala Jovia Ann. If the competition had a protagonist, a figure around whom the narrative of the day naturally orbited, it was her. Nabaggala did not merely present her arguments, she owned the room, one sentence at a time. The judges noticed. The audience noticed. And when the Best Oralist Award was announced, there was, by all accounts, very little surprise. There was only the warm, deserved applause of a legal community recognising one of its brightest emerging voices.

Behind every great performance in a courtroom, real or moot, there is a coach who saw the potential before anyone else did. Advocate Ayeranga Godfrey prepared this team with the rigour of someone who understands that moot court is not an extracurricular activity, as a rehearsal for a career. Supported by Mr. Mugisha Echo and Mr. Masolo Adrian, both proud members of the Cavendish University Law Moot Society, the coaching structure gave these three students not just arguments, but confidence — that rarest and most decisive of courtroom weapons.

The organisers — Young African Leaders in Sport and Mashariki Sports and Entertainment Advisory, deserve their own laurels for conceiving and executing a competition that fills a genuine gap in Uganda’s legal education landscape. The inaugural edition has set a standard that future editions will have to work hard to match.

As the trophies were raised, photographs taken and the handshakes exchanged on the evening of July 10th, one truth settled quietly over the Cavendish contingent like the close of a well-argued submission: they had not simply won a moot court competition. They had announced, to fifteen universities and the entire Ugandan legal community that a new force had arrived in the room.

And it roars in White and Blue!

The Cavendish University Uganda Law Moot Society continues to represent the university in national and regional competitions. For information on joining the Society, contact the Faculty of Law.