By Christine Mirembe 

Uganda Christian University (UCU) has emerged the best institution in Uganda’s annual Ultimate University Quiz, defeating Ndejje University with a score of 330 points against 270. The competition, running for the third year, has been airing on TV for the past nine weeks, showing every Saturday and Sunday, at 7:30 p.m. local time. A total of 18 Ugandan universities competed this year, up from 17 last year and 16 in the inaugural edition. The quiz is organized by Vision Group, Uganda’s largest media conglomerate.

UCU’s win over Ndejje, which was making its maiden appearance this year, means UCU took home sh25m (about $6,900) while the students and their coach each received sh1m (about $276) and a new laptop for each of them. Richard Chubaka (Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering, year 4), Timothy Kisembo (Bachelor of Laws, year 2), Jacob Engwau (Bachelor of Laws, year 2) and Philip Taremwa (Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering, year 3) represented UCU. They were coached by Francis Byaruhanga, a UCU alumnus.

Byaruhanga was among the students who represented UCU in the inaugural edition in 2023. That year, he and his colleagues lost to Mbrarara University in the finals. This experience gave Byaruhanga the much-needed knowledge to guide his team to victory this year.

Byaruhanga said he began assembling a pool of gifted students as early as last year, identifying each through mock competitions at UCU.

“This helped me to identify the core team that began training early this year,” he said. “Initially, I played a supervisory role, ensuring the team met at least three times a week. But as the competition date neared, the preparation intensified. The team met every evening for rigorous sessions.” 

Byaruhanga said despite UCU emerging victorious, this year’s quiz was more complex than the one he participated in in 2023. The questions were in the areas of science, geography, arts and culture, sports, general knowledge, history and current affairs, among others.

The road to victory

To reach the finals, the UCU students had to dump last year’s champions, Gulu University in the semifinals, with a score margin of 360 to 250. Each correct answer in the quiz earns the winner 10 points.

But perhaps the toughest of the games UCU had was in the quarterfinals, where they faced off with Kyambogo University. It was the first time in the competition’s history that the competing teams tied after the four rounds of questions. At the end of round four, each university had 300 points, forcing the question developers to issue tie-breaker questions. The first round had four questions for each team, leaving the two teams in a tie, again, at 310 points. It was the second set of tie-breaker questions that separated the two teams, with UCU garnering 330 points against Kyambogo’s 310.

Chubaka said when they tied at the end of the fourth round, he wanted to jump out of the quiz because the questions had been mentally draining. Each team is usually allowed one substitute who can replace any member on set. However, coach Byaruhanga encouraged Chubaka to soldier on. And he became the team’s saviour.

“I had watched the world athletics competitions highlights on YouTube just a few days before,” Chubaka said. “When they asked for the winners of the competition, I had the answer, and that is how we won.” 

Kisembo attributes their success to hard work, faith and prayer. 

“Our team prayed before every round, something the organizers noted as unique and inspiring,” he said.

Kisembo’s mother, Juliet Kabajungu, said the atmosphere of quizzes was not a new thing for her son, who had his secondary school education at St. Mary’s College, Kisubi, one of Uganda’s elite secondary schools. This success, she noted, will truly inspire Kisembo’s siblings.

Betty Eryatu, Engwau’s mother, could not hide her excitement, saying it was a joy watching her son on TV. Engwau was grateful to the university for having trust in him to represent them in such a battle of the brains.

Taremwa says he got inspiration from the students who participated in Season One in 2023. In fact, he participated in the university’s mock quizzes which chose the participants for Season Two in 2024. He was not among those selected to represent the university, but he did not lose hope. And it is that hope that got him selected for Season Three this year.  

As the second team in the competition this year, Ndejje University walked home with sh15m (about $4,100) and each of the four participants took a cash prize of sh500,000 (about $140) and a laptop. Busitema University, which emerged third, got sh10m (about $2,760) and each participant received a cash prize of sh300,000 (about $83), along with a tablet. Each participant and coach, including those who dropped out in the earlier rounds, got sh200,000 (about $55).