On Friday the 22nd, the climax of a 5-day event, the 3rd Edition of Kenya Universities Performing Arts Music Festival, was hosted by the Technical University of Mombasa. The event featured celebrations and awarding of the best-performing items, and it was the highlight of the colourful day gala event.

A total of 29 universities and 2 campuses participated in the festival. Various items such as solo verse, coral verse, spoken word, African medley, folk dance, folk songs and KUPAA infomercials were presented at the festival, where the Technical University of Mombasa emerged as the winner of both English and Swahili spoken word, the 1st runner up in English spoken word, and the 2nd runner up in solo Swahili set piece.

This year’s event was one of its kind since the inception of KUPAA in 2018. The event featured Vice-chancellors from several universities who topped the guest list. Led by the host Prof. Laila Abubakar, the Vice-chancellors of KCA University, Masinde Muliro University of Science & Technology, MultiMedia University of Kenya, Deputy Vice Chancellors, and Dean of Students from various universities graced the occasion.

The event received a special guest, Prof. Humphrey P.O Oborah, The Secretary General of the World Talent Federation (WTF) of the United States of America. Prof. Oborah challenged both KUPAA and Vice-chancellors to make sure that all the exhibited talents don’t go to waste since they can be developed into careers. During the performances, Prof. Oborah spotted a unique voice intonation from one of the participants, developed an immediate interest, and vowed to accelerate the talent to the next level. WFT is an International organization dealing with the scientific identification and validation of talent through professional and scientific talent screening.

It has always been an honour for the Ministry of Education to be part of the journey and celebrations of students’ achievements, and this event was no exception. Ms Eunice Wakhofula represented the Permanent Secretary of the State Department of University Education in the Ministry of Education as the Chief Guest. In her speech, she heeded Prof. Oborah’s words, saying that something must be done to accelerate the talents to the next level. “As the Ministry, we will always be ready to support KUPAA and the universities in enhancing talent in readiness to receive the first lot of CBC cum 2029 where much is expected."

In her speech, Prof. Laila appreciated KUPAA for choosing TUM as an ideal Host. She cheered the winners and all other participants for their exemplary performance in the competition. “We are honoured to have hosted KUPAA 3rd Edition festivals. Congratulations to all the participants. Students should feel wholesome! Today Dopamine was raised, the event was therapeutic, and we are all relaxed.”

The Chairperson of KUPAA, Dr Tamba, highlighted the evolution of KUPAA since 2018, saying that universities have played a major role in its growth. “Even with the financial constraints that most universities are experiencing, they have always supported KUPAA through the facilitation of students to participate in the festival. This year, despite facilitating students, universities also supported KUPAA with a sum of Sh. 78,000 to purchase trophies that were later awarded to the winners. We are indeed grateful, and we appreciate you,” he reiterated.

KUPAA has recently witnessed massive growth where university participation in festivals has notably been increasing. This year, a total of 29 universities and 2 campuses presented various items as opposed to the 1st edition where only 5 choirs were presented in the festival. This growth resulted in the restructuring of the KUPAA almanac to allow more students to participate without interfering with their academic calendar.

Interestingly, despite their tight schedules, some of the university CEOs and their deputies have been doubling up as music facilitators and choir conductors ahead of the event. The event highlighted how universities are committed to nurturing talent by investing in contemporary musical instruments.

To sum up the feel of this festival, we borrow the words of MMUST's VC, “Music was our first school; the only way people could speak to the soul of the other.”