Zimbabwe’s Quest for Gold Ends in Silver as Debate Team Battles Kenya
Zimbabwe’s national debate and public speaking teams have continued their impressive run on the international stage, securing silver medals at the prestigious East Africa World Schools Debating and Public Speaking Championship held last week in Nairobi, Kenya.
The tournament featured competitors from Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania and host nation Kenya, with teams displaying their expertise in argumentation, critical thinking and persuasive speaking.
Representing Zimbabwe in the debate category were Barry Kamanga (Hellenic Academy), Munotida Nyamanhindi (Dominican Convent Harare), Nokutenda Guta (Arundel School) and Elvis Machiya (St Faith – Rusape).
Their training was led by head coach Maison Maphosa and assistant coaches Methembe Mthimkhulu, Providence Nhoko, and Menzimuhle Ncube.
On the public speaking side, Zimbabwe fielded a strong team comprising Ryan Edziwa (Hellenic Academy), Towonanyasha Matuku (Arundel School), Hannah Raja, and junior captain Tendai Zvirawa (Wise Owl Marondera), coached by Nqobile Moyo, Rebecca Muleya and Zibusiso Moyo.
After clinching gold in last year’s tournament, Zimbabwe’s debate team fought hard in the Grand Final, but ultimately fell to Kenya, securing second place.
In public speaking, Zimbabwe was edged out by Uganda’s Speech Paragons in an intense showdown.
According to Herald, Zimbabwe’s individual performances stood out, with Kamanga finishing second in the Best Debater category, while Nyamanhindi, Guta, and Machiya ranked sixth, seventh and seventeenth out of 109 speakers.
In junior public speaking, Zvirawa dominated the preliminaries as the top speaker before securing silver in the grand finals, while in the senior category, Edziwa and Matuku placed second and eleventh out of 80 speakers.
Raja was awarded the Most Potential Award for her promising performance.
Reflecting on the results, head coach Maison Maphosa expressed pride in the team’s accomplishments but admitted that their ultimate goal was to retain the championship title.
“We performed well, but as defending champions, silver was not the target—we wanted to reclaim gold.
“The team has enormous potential, and with continued hard work, I am confident they will produce even better results in future competitions,” he said.
Looking ahead, Zimbabwe’s debate and public speaking teams are gearing up for their next challenges.
They are set to compete at the Asia Debating Championships in Thailand this June, followed by the World Schools Debating Championships in Panama this July, where they aim to reclaim their position among the world’s best.
