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Laugh Festival: When Africa’s funniest men came to Nairobi


Friday night was a memorable one for comedy lovers in Nairobi as the inaugural Laugh Festival was held at Carnivore grounds.

Hosted by Churchill of the Churchill Show fame, the festival was graced by guest performers drawn from various countries in Africa.

Sex, race, politics and music was clearly the favourite topic for some of the funniest comedians in the continent.

The show began on a high note with politicians and Nigerians taking the biggest hit from the comedians. Women were also not spared either, with some of the comedians making fun of Kenyan socialites Huddah Monroe and Vera Sidika.

Malawi’s Daliso Chaponda took the stage first with his cynicism towards dating. But as the show wore on, his lewd jokes would prove to be comparatively mild.

Nkusi Arthur from Rwanda used music to illustrate satire by demonstrating how men from different countries like to bed their women. He also amused the audience with his quick and witty knowledge of Kenyan politics.

DARLING OF THE NIGHT

South Africa’s Ndumsio Lindi just made everyone feel good once he walked on the stage. His deep voice, soul-warming smile, booming laughter, original content and seamless delivery left everyone proud to be African and laughing from the belly.

Ndumsio’s wisecracks were based on everyday life, the things that surround us, how we differ as people and how unique black people can be, especially the new generation.

He also joked about Nigerians and how he was once mistaken for a lady, while at the same time thinking the two Nigerians he was sharing an elevator with were going to beat him up because of xenophobia that was going on in his country.

But the darling of the night was Uganda’s Salvado. He took his audience through a humorous “tour” of Ugandan, Rwandan, Nigerian, Kenyan and South African lifestyles from a very humorous perspective, which the audience related to easily.

He also joked about how ugly he was and that at first he did not believe that his children were really his. His facial expressions, especially to mimic men’s faces during sexual intimacy, left everyone in stitches.

Local comedians also did not disappoint although they had to stick with Kiswahili most of the time to engage the audience.

Despite a few hitches with the sound system, the Laugh Festival lived up to expectation.