Ugandan pupil wins Commonwealth essay writing competition

A 13-year-old pupil has won the 2021 Junior Queen’s Commonwealth essay writing competition (QCEC).

Ethan Charles Mufuma, a pupil at Namilyango Junior Boys School in Mukono District beat the 13,050 junior category entries.

He was announced the winner on Tuesday by Mr Nathan Mckenzie, the
Chief Operating Officer of Royal Commonwealth society during a
function held in London.

Mr Ethan’s winning entry was one of the 48 entries submitted to this
year’s competition by children from Uganda.
Ms Kayla Bosire from Kenya won in the senior category.

Ethan becomes the first Ugandan and African child to win this prestigious competition.

The queen’s commonwealth essay competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools established in 1883 with thousands of young people taking part every year.
The competition is open to nationals and residents in the 54 member
states of the Commonwealth.

The competition is an important way to recognise achievement, elevate
youth voices and develop key skills through creative writing.
The theme of this year’s annual competition was, “Community in the
Commonwealth” and Ethan’s poem that brought him victory was titled
“Okware the Pandemic Epic”.

In a letter to Uganda’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr
Mckenzie said: “It gives me great pleasure to inform you that Mr Ethan
Mufuma an outstanding student from Namilyango junior boys school has been selected as the junior winner of QCEC. Unfortunately, UK’s
Covid-19 restrictions will prevent us from bringing Ethan to London to
meet with the other competition winners and attending the QCEC award
ceremony at St James’ Palace on the 28th this month. However, we have
committed to bringing him to London next year.”

The Namilyango Junior Boys School headteacher Sr.
Immaculate Nabukalu and staff received news of Mr Ethan’s victory
with celebrations.

“God has made it. This is not only a win for our school, Uganda but
Africa as a whole. Our pupil is the first African child to win this competition,” a beaming Sr Nabukalu said.

She added that as a school they engage learners in many competitions
because “we know a competitive mind is a creative mind”.

Mr Ethan is a son to Mr Wilson Mufuma, a technician at Makekere University. He wants to become a playwright and said winning the competition would open doors of success for him.

He scored Aggregate 5 in last year’s Primary Leaving Examinations.