By Lauryn Ojore

The Pan African University Debate Championship (PAUDC), held at Strathmore University in Nairobi from December 8 to 15, 2022, was a highly competitive event featuring teams from universities across the continent. Among the standout performances at the championship was that of the United States International University- Africa (USIU-A), who had three out of four teams break to the octofinals round.

The PAUDC is a forum for university students to debate and compare the current difficulties that Africa and the globe confront. It helps students to offer new and realistic solutions to these difficulties in order to mitigate them. Furthermore, the platform intends to provide a mentoring atmosphere for African international leaders. This is accomplished by encouraging critical and analytical thinking, innovation and ideation, active learning and complex problem solving, creativity and originality.

The USIU-Africa teams were made up of Fresher Awuor and Louis Gitu, Victor Mwendwa and Elsie Sirengo, Joshua Wambugu and Wanjiru Karugu, and Jeremiah Kashaka and Bienvenu Faraja. The event was also attended by three adjudicators, Lauryn Ojore, Stacy Onyango, and Samuel Kagia, with Chantelle Mukabi, a former SADS Chair, serving as one of the Central Adjudication Panel.

One of the standout performers from the USIU-Africa team was Joshua Wambugu, who was ranked as the 7th best new speaker at the tournament. This is a great achievement for Joshua as a new speaker, his performance was exceptional and he showed great potential in the debate arena. Additionally, a recent USIU-Africa alumni and former chair, Kagia Samuel, was awarded 2nd best adjudicator at the tournament. This is a testament to the quality of training and education provided by USIU-Africa in the field of debate.

Furthermore, one of the adjudicators, Stacy Onyango, served as a finals chair, showing that USIU-Africa was well represented among the tournament's leadership as well. The USIU-Africa team's performance at the Pan African University Debate Championship is a testament to the strength and competitiveness of the university's debate program. It is clear that USIU-Africa is a force to be reckoned with in the African debate scene.

The competition was won by Veritas University from Nigeria, with the team of Ayafa Tonye and Edwin Ochiedo taking home the top prize. The PAUDC continues to be a valuable platform for African university students to showcase their talents, engage in meaningful discourse, and develop the skills necessary to become leaders in their respective fields. With the strong performance of USIU-Africa teams, the Spoken Arts and Debate Society is already preparing for upcoming competitions this spring semester.

1. Nairobi Schools
2. Olympia invitational
3. Uhuru Worlds