The Vis Moot: Dreams of a Moot Coach Who Never Mooted
By Prof. Dr. Letzadzo Kometsi
National University of Lesotho Vis Moot Team, Head Coach
The Vis Moot
The name rang a bell
It rang loud, and carried with it a sound message
A message of games that simulate real games of dialogue, at global interaction
Interaction of the minds geared towards mind boggling problem solving
Solving problems of the near and afar, the global, yet unborn problems
They said the globe is but a village and the problems of the globe transcend to villages
Villages in Africa, like the global village in trade, interconnected and inter trading
As Erin the tenacious(1), clutched at the bell, and
Tijmen(2) 'man of the people' rang the bell, for the village gathering
For the ultimate sharpening of spears, for the war of wits
Africa in the Moot,
Like the branches of a tree, it whizzed at the winds from the Vis
As it caught and echoed the message louder and clearer
And the riders of the waves of the winds steadfast and focused,
Willem C. to Stephen Fleischer at the East of the African Village, Nairobi
From local village to global village, from where the sun rises, in Africa
Bringing with it the indigenous albeit raw wisdom of the Africa village
To solve African problems through the global village
The public gathering was in the village of Nairobi
Where the mooting of the moot starts
Before I arrived at the East Africa Pre-Moot, but I imagined
I imagined the toil and the sweat of the villagers over abstraction
I imagined the toil of the masters as they guided and directed the thinking
I imagined how hard to appreciate the thinking of the wise, otherwise
I imagined the rush, helter-skelter to the airports with shoddy eyes and ignorant fumbling
I imagined the running around at airports, losing staff, and mind, while mooting in the head
I imagined the arrival at Nairobi, the arrival at Vienna as if simultaneous
I imagined the shock and the excitement of the mooters, there, at Vienna
There, more for the skill, than the kill
Killing it nonetheless, with eloquence and pride
I did not attend the competition in Vienna, though
It is a competition of a kind, still
The kind prophesied and foretold by the great African poets and legends, such as
James Ogunjimi and his kind, Kwame Nkrumah and his kind, for us
The role of Africa in the Vis Moot, given
Rekindling and inspiring the desires for dialogue, not for guns and ammunition, and
Stockpiling the brain power for gun power, the tongue for the gun, and reason for ammunition
Alas, this is competition for cooperation, competition for the entry of Africa in the Vis Moot
Entering without an exit plan, to inherit, re-inspire and reinvigorate the venerable villagers
I did not prepare to moot, but I mooted, from a distance, online
I did not prepare to moot but I mooted, with my brethren, here in my village
I debated foreign concepts and complex issues
I read and wrote prestine arguments while preparing for the examinations, and
I rode road cars and flying cars as I travelled, to argue, in some village
While my other mind stayed to imagine how the toil of my sweat turned out, for
I am only the coach with imagination
For many a home village teams the coaching is habitual, and the imaginary mooting, nostalgic
As I tune in for the next round of bells
The Vis Moot is calling …
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The Biblical meaning of the name Erin is 'tenacity'
Tijmen means 'man of the people’' in English