Laughing with Africa: Africa’s top comedians will today crack ribs at the third edition of Africa Laughs tonight at Kampala Serena Hotel. Guest performers include Bovi from Nigeria, Eddie Kadi from Congo, Ndumiso Lindi from South Africa, Carl Joshua Ncube from Zimbabwe, Eric Omondi from Kenya and Arthur Nkusi from Rwanda. The show will feature local comedians, including Anne Kansiime, Alex Muhangi, Madrat & Chico, Patrick Salvado, Teacher Mpamire, Napoleone Emmah and Ronnie McVex,writes EDGAR R. BATTE
Tonight’s roster of comedians is driven by focus, determination and ingenuity, according to Africa Laughs III CEO- comedian Patrick ‘Salvado’ Idringi . “Through their shows, these comedians create richly complex characters that resonate with everyone, validate our humanity and existence, thus reflecting our deep feelings and desires. This therefore empowers us to make a positive difference and do profound changes to ourselves and communities around us,” Salvado explains.
We share a brief profiles of the guest comedians.
Eric Omondi
He has been in Kampala before, at the Africa Laughs fete. In an interview with Kenya’s Standard Media, Eric Omondi is another of the comedians whose jokes are clean and rib cracking. He defines himself as a doctor who treats illnesses such as stress, sadness and depression. He also prescribes certain amounts of laughter.
He sprung to fame at the Churchill Show, a Kenyan comedy show hosted by celebrated comedian Daniel “Churchill” Ndambuki. He is a born comedian. He would tickle fellow youngsters, his family and friends. In his younger years, he applied to become an intern at a local television station as a news reporter. “Around the same time, Churchill Live was evolving. I joined the show. I lost my position as a reporter; people told me they wouldn’t take my reporting seriously since they would see me as a comedian. But with Churchill Live, I had found exactly what I wanted,” he told The Standard. Like they say, the rest is history.
Carl Joshua Ncube
He has been described by CNN African Voices as the ‘New face of Zimbabwean Comedy’. He is currently on a challenge, attempting to break the Guinness Book of Records with the most stand-up comedy performances in a week. He is slated to put up 35 performances at 35 venues in 12 cities in four countries, including Uganda where he will be headlining at tonight’s Africa Laughs comedy fete. This is in search of a world record. The Zimbabwean-born comedian broke into the Zimbabwean comedy scene with his debut one-man show Carl Joshua Ncube’s Big Announcement. According to www.pindula.co.zw, Ncube realized a lot of groundbreaking achievements as a result of his move to South Africa.
“Renowned South African comedy club, Parkers Comedy and Jive gave Ncube a slot to perform at their popular club at which he rubbed shoulders with some of South Africa’s comedy elites such as Kediboni Malaudzi,” the site cites in part. This is not his first time in Uganda. He has been hosted by top local comedian Pablo. He has also performed in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria and USA.
Ndumiso Lindi
When South Africa journalist Brown Shuga asked him how he could describe himself, Ndumiso Lindi said he is an ambitious individual, who’s all about having fun in life, easy going and loves laughter. His father, an emcee, introduced him to comedy. He was a collector of Joke pocketbooks like 1000 jokes in 1 which he would share with his son. He would use them as icebreakers at the events where he ‘emceed’.
He has followed in his father’s footsteps as an emcee though comedy is his real bread earner. He says his jokes come from everyday observations. He is known for trademark hat and funky urban stylish look.
est is history.
Arthur Nkusi
You will recognise him from Big Brother Africa. He is a Rwandan comedian but essentially Ugandan since he was born here. He went to Rwanda at the age of five. From an early age, he was a joker. He has grown to professionalise the joker in him to becoming a comedian.
In an interview with www.focus.rw, he said he became a comedian not because someone inspired him but because he realized that no one in Rwanda was doing comedy.
“I once attended a comic theatre called ‘Umuvunyi’ at Ishusho Art Centre organized by Carol Karemera in 2010. From there, my two friends and I decided to do comedy as a career. Six years on, I still have a lot to learn,” he added. In his other life, Nkusi is a radio presenter at Kiss FM Rwanda and Television presenter at Royal TV. He is also an emcee, dance choreographer and says he is a singer ‘by mistake’.
Eddie Kadi
The last time he was in Kampala, Eddie Kadi left comedy fans in stitches. He was one of the main stage acts back in October, 2014 at the Africa Laughs. He was born in Congo but based in Fulham, in West London, where he relocated at the age of age of eight. He started doing stand-up comedy while studying media technology at Kingston University in Surrey, UK.
His comedy is cleaner than you are used to and he has managed to shine his star using quick wit and unpredictability. One of his career highlights was his inaugural headline arena show, An Audience with Eddie Kadi at the O2 Arena in London in 2010. Where, according to his official website, pre-sale tickets sold out in less than 12 hours prompting an extra allocation to be released.
The site adds, “The booking seemed ambitious for a comedian that seemed a relative unknown, however Eddie went on to fill the arena with 8,000 people.” Away from comedy, he has continuously supported community projects and initiatives as an important aspect of his life.
Patrick Salvado
He is the host at tonight’s show- Africa Laughs. When he announced he was leaving his job as a telecom engineer at top telecom company, MTN Uganda in 2011, many thought it was another of his hearty jokes. The comedian was serious. He quit and embraced stage, cracking ribs week in, week out.
He told CNN that he made the decision to move on after realising that he was making unserious money by being serious yet he could make serious money from being unserious.
The man from Ombokoro, like he has branded himself, has no regrets. Last year he proved critics wrong when he hosted a one-man show dubbed ‘Man from Ombokoro’ which attracted a full house. Over the years, he has proved himself as a signature brand on not only Uganda’s comedy scene but continentally. He tells jokes from personal experience, will make joke about his parents in the audience among other seemingly unconventional subjects like sex and death.
