By Zambian Economist Analyst
A Learner Legal Practitioner who failed his first sitting of the Bar exams is being admitted today as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Zambia, a milestone he credits to his family, his faith and one hard second attempt.
Farai Mudadi is being admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Zambia today, after completing the programme at the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education. For most people that sentence would read as a straightforward professional update. For Farai, it marks the end of a two year stretch that tested him more than any single exam could.
A first attempt that did not go to plan
ZIALE’s Bar course requires candidates to pass eleven examinations. Farai did not clear all eleven on his first sitting. He has described the period that followed as one of the hardest of his life. Rather than step away from the profession, he leaned on his family and friends, went back to the material, and returned to sit and pass the remaining papers on his second attempt.
That kind of setback is common in professional qualification in Zambia and elsewhere, though it is rarely discussed openly. Bar admission numbers are typically reported as a pass count, not a story of who resat what and why. Farai’s account is a reminder that the path to a professional qualification is seldom a straight line, even for those who eventually complete it.
A grandfather’s wish
The period leading up to his resit examinations coincided with the death of his grandfather, Fisha Mudadi. One of his grandfather’s stated wishes was to see Farai wear the advocate’s wig and make the Mudadi family proud. He did not live to see this day. Farai says his grandfather’s encouragement remained one of his strongest sources of motivation through the resit, and that having his 82 year old grandmother present to see him called to the Bar carries particular weight for him.
Farai points to Isaiah 60:22, “When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen,” as a verse that steadied him through the two years.
Two years at GM Legal Practitioners
While preparing for the Bar, Farai worked as a Learner Legal Practitioner at GM Legal Practitioners for two years. It is there that he developed an interest in corporate and commercial law, alongside a growing focus on family law, particularly cases involving children affected by broken homes.
Preparing for the Bar also meant putting a loan business he had been building on hold. He describes that as a deliberate trade off rather than a loss, one he expects will eventually let him combine legal practice with entrepreneurial ventures in finance and mineral trading.
What this means for the profession
Zambia’s legal sector, like its wider professional services market, relies on a steady pipeline of newly admitted advocates to serve a growing base of businesses navigating contracts, disputes, and regulatory compliance. Each ZIALE cohort that reaches the Bar adds directly to that capacity, particularly in corporate and commercial practice, where demand has tracked the country’s broader push to attract investment and formalise business activity.
Admitted today, Farai says his intention is to help businesses operate with more confidence, while keeping the law available as a tool for people who need protection, not just those who can afford a retainer. He describes his admission to the Bar as the start of a responsibility, not the end of one.
