By Lincoln G. Peters
Liberian human rights lawyer Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe over the weekend officially inducted into office the newly elected leadership of the Federation of African Law Students (FALAS).
The defeated Liberian opposition presidential candidate inducted the law students during a ceremony held via Zoom.
The ceremony had over twenty-two participants from several African Countries, as well as law professors and faculties.
During the program, human rights lawyer and advocate Amb. Najimoulay Lahsen of Morocco served as guest speaker, while Cllr. Gongloe performed the inaugural induction rituals.
Those inducted into offices include Kioi Ngungu, president, from Kenya; Nokuthual Songo, vice president from South Africa; Ephraim T. Nyumah, Secretary-General from Liberia; and Success Zibba, Deputy Secretary General.
Also, the inducted officials included Hawa D., Director of Accounting from Ghana; Seyram Seyram, Head of Diplomacy and Protocol from Ghana; Asiimwe Maria Patience, Welfare Secretary, and Elaigwu Eunice, Director of Treasury, from Nigeria.
FALAS is the apex and unifying umbrella body for undergraduate law students across the African continent.
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The Federation enjoys goodwill and bank on endorsements from the African Bar Association (AfBA), and other regional/national law bodies across the continent which mutually collaborate to foster their founding credo.
FALAS is an international, non-partisan, and forward-looking association that is wired toward building a united Africa and a common future.
It also seeks to promote and protect the interest of justice, fairness, equity, and equality in Africa while ensuring at all times regardless of the prevailing circumstances, that they are united on all frontiers.
As a unified student body, its primary objective is to provide opportunities for African law students, bridge the existing gap, proffer viable solutions to their problems, build a network of outstanding students who would collaborate towards a common future, and ensure that African Law Students are attuned to new realities and global practices.
In his remarks, Cllr. Gongloe urged the newly elected leadership and African law students and legal practitioners to uphold the integrity and ethical standards of the legal profession.
According to him, peace can’t be sustained in any country without adherence to the rule of law, urging that lawyers, therefore, should be agents of change.
Cllr. Gongloe stated that to be effective in playing this role, lawyers must dedicate themselves to deepening their knowledge and understanding of the laws of their various countries.
He charged them to uphold the high ethical standard in doing their duties to stimulate the trust and confidence of the African people in the legal profession.
“The incoming President and leadership elect of FALAS, members of the law faculties across the African Continent, the legal profession bears the greater responsibility for creating the atmosphere it requires for building a culture of peace, and political, social as well as economic progress of Africa,” Cllr. Gongloe said.
For his part, the newly inducted President of FALAS Mr. Ngungu extolled the guests and professors for their support.
“We take your observations and advice seriously. I want to assure you that this team will not disappoint you,” said Mr. Ngungu.
He pledged that they would uphold the integrity and creditability of FALAS and the legal profession.
He added that they will ensure that there is opportunity and collaboration with regional and international bodies to deepen the understanding of students in the profession.
