What initially seemed unusual turned into extraordinary magic and outstanding performance! All the powerhouse schools converged at the Arusha Debating Championship, with each country fielding its finest and most elite debaters.
And the lucky Kigezi High School emerged overall winner, leaving everyone in awe.
We proudly associate ourselves with Kigezi High School for raising Uganda’s flag highest. As you traverse valleys and mountains, go and represent Uganda with distinction in Accra.
You have demonstrated that Kigezi is a land of eloquence and that Kigezi High School is a fireplace for nurturing critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving competencies in learners through debate.
FULL REPORT of Kigezi High school student’s performance at the East African School debate Championship 2026 IN Arusha Tanzania from 8th to 12th September 2026
Introduction
The school sent four student representatives and a patron to participate in the debate championship in Arusha, Tanzania. They were a team of three debaters namely: Mumbere Collins (S.5 Sciences), Ankunda Martha (S.4B), and Ariho Mendelsohn (S.4C), plus one public speaker, Nkamushaba Lynn (S.5 Sciences).
Departure from School
The group departed from school on 6th September 2026 at 6:00 a.m. since it was a three-day journey. The means of transport were comfortable and convenient.
Clearance at Busia Border
We arrived at Busia border on 7th September at 10:00 a.m. Together with students from other Ugandan schools, we were cleared for approximately two hours to obtain official permission to cross into Kenya.
Arrival at the Host School
We arrived at the host school, St. Jude Secondary School, on 8th September 2026 at 6:00 p.m. We were welcomed, registered, and given accommodation. We were also provided with tournament cards and T-shirts which were to be worn on the finale day at the East African Legislative Assembly.
Commencement of the Tournament
The tournament commenced on 9th September 2026 at 8:00 a.m. For ease of identification and reduction of manipulation, the debate teams were given team names.
Day 1 of the Tournament
Using Phrases, the mighty Kigezi High School team was named “Say Less”. For the public speech category, two rounds were conducted and they were all silent. In the debate club, three rounds were conducted; we won two open rounds while the third was silent.
Day 2 of the Tournament
On 10th September, two debate rounds were conducted and team “Say Less” won them all. In public speaking, three rounds were conducted, making five in total, and breaking into the octo-finals. Our public speaker broke as the 16th out of 158 participants for the octo-finals, while our debate team broke 6th with four wins and one loss.
Day 3 of the Tournament
On 11th September, we toured the beauty of Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. We saw beautiful scenery and wild animals such as lions, snakes, wildebeests, elephants, among others. After a long travel in the park, we had lunch in gazette tourist shades with big canopies. We later returned to the host school in the evening to prepare for the final day.
Day 4 of the Tournament
On 12th September, we gathered in the auditorium for the announcement of teams that qualified for the semi-finals in both debate and public speaking. Unfortunately, we did not break into the semi-finals since only eight public speakers were selected, and our public speaker was ranked 9th.
Departure to the EALA
We used the host school’s buses to arrive at the East African Legislative Assembly at 2:00 p.m. for the finale and awarding ceremony.
Awarding Ceremony
On arrival, the debate finals and public speech finals were conducted, followed by the awarding ceremony. Our debate third speaker, Ariho Mendelsohn, was recognized as the overall 9th best speaker. Our public speaker was ranked 9th out of 158 participants. Our other two debaters also ranked in the top 20 speakers. Mendelsohn and Lynn were awarded medals, and we all received certificates of participation.
Qualification for the African Schools Debate Championship
Both the Debate team and the public speaker qualified for the African Schools Debate Championship as 9th in the whole tournament. The invitation letters were promised to be brought to the school as they got ready.
Welfare during the Journey to and from Arusha
We thank the school administration for the care they provided to us, to and from Arusha. We were able to feed well along the journey and we sincerely appreciate the school for such facilitation.
Welfare in the Tournament
The welfare during the tournament was superb. We were given three meals per day of high quality and quantity.
Departure from the Host School
We departed from the host school on 12th September 2026 at 10:00 p.m. to arrive at the border in the morning for exit clearance.
Arrival in Uganda
We arrived in Uganda on 13th September 2026 at 2:00 p.m. and continued with clearance. On our way to Kampala, we were stopped by a traffic officer who informed us it was a government directive that students should not travel past 6:00 p.m. We had to sleep at St. Noa Mawagali SS in Jinja City.
Arrival at School
We arrived at Kigezi High School (mighty hive) on 14th September 2026 at 8:40 p.m.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we thank the administration for the continuous support rendered to our club and for building our talents. We continue to make Kigezi High School proud. We promise to always do our best to make the bees buzz.
Recommendation
We kindly request the administration, with the support rendered to us for the East African competitions, to further support us as we go for the African Schools Debate Championship in Ghana.
Compiled by; NKAMUSHABA LYNN, MUMBERE COLLINS (team coordinator for debate) TUMWIJUKYE SHALLON (patron) and Abraham Akampurira School Head teacher
