By Lauryn Ojore

The USIU-Africa Spoken Arts and Debate Society (SADS) hosted the second leg of the Mbokodo Open Tournament. The event took place on November 18-19, and brought together 10 Kenyan Universities to engage, discuss and debate motions surrounding the theme “Women and the Justice System” Mbokodo represents a South African narrative that speaks to women embodying the characteristics of a rock: being hard, strong, and unwavering. This speaks to the central focus of the tournament as a platform to engage with and further understand the controversial issues surrounding women and their relationship with the Justice System as a whole, gender minorities and women’s place in the long-standing patriarchal society.

The tournament saw over 50 speakers engage in 6 preliminary rounds, semi-finals and the grand finale. For the continuously growing SADS community, the event served as testament to the work the debaters, especially the new debaters have put in training. 10 out of 12 spots of the best speaker spots went to USIU-Africa speakers. In the end, Kiragu Kimani and Shamiah Muchesia from Strathmore University bagged the trophy.

Honorary mentions:

1. Jeremiah Kashaka was awarded the top best speaker of the tournament.
2. Chantelle Mukabi and Samuel Kagia emerged third overall with both securing top 5 speakers of the tournament.
3. Jeremiah Kashaka & Bienvenue Faraja broke through to the grand finale of the tournament and became the 2nd runner’s up.
4. Fresher Diana & Louis Gitu broke through to the semi-finals of the Open Rounds.
5. Joshua Wambugu and Aisha Ahmed came in fifth while also securing top 10 best speaker spots.
6. Wanjiku Karagu & Hafsa Abshir, in their second tournament, secured top 10 speaker spots.

All the teams representing SADS at the tournament tirelessly train with the guidance of its committee. Giving credit where it is due, SADS could not have thrived without the guidance and tutelage of club patron Dr. Quin Juma.

To close off the semester in style, the club is undertaking a rigorous and intensive training as it gears up for the Pan African Universities Debate Championship in Kenya from 8-15 December at Strathmore University.