Eric Mugisha is the founder and Managing Director of ‘Kings of Comedy’, a production company that does production media, events, and experiential marketing.

He is the brains behind the first standup comedy event at the Carwash Bar and Restaurant in Kimihurura in 2013. The event drew comedians from Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya on one stage for a sold-out concert. 

Mugisha has never looked back since, organizing subsequent comedy and other events in Kigali. His latest gig was the recent "Man from Ombokolo” comedy show at the Villa Portofino Hotel in Nyarutarama, involving Ugandan stand-up comedian Patrick "Salvador” Idringi.

Why events?

In 2007 I went to the studio of one of the veteran event organizers in Kampala, Halima Namakula. I had gone there to check on a producer friend of mine called Vince. I found Halima Namakula working on so many activations and she was looking for many people with whom to work on her events projects.

She hired me to work on a beer promotion and after the whole experience; I realized that there is a good way you can use events management to make good money. So from then on I have always been into events.

What does it take to pull off a successful event?

First of all you, have to realize what people want. After that ,you go ahead to share the idea with the said performer and then you sign a contract and give him a job, then move on to the other things like production and securing the venue and getting sponsors and advertisers. I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but once you’ve been there it actually becomes fun.

Why do you favor comedy over other events? Are you a comedian yourself? 

I started with music events, and then I realized at some point, I should specialize in comedy events. I started in 2008, in Kampala doing corporate music events where I worked with most of the major artistes in Kampala –people like Maurice Kirya, Iryn Namubiru, Julianna Kanyomozi, Jose Chameleone and Bebe Cool.

What was your first event in Kigali and what was it like?

I came to Kigali in 2009, but decided to do my first event here in 2010, and that was with the Ugandan artiste Bobi Wine. It was at the Sports View Hotel in Remera. 

There was a large delegation from Uganda because the Ugandan president was here on a one-week state visit, so we had so many Ugandans in the country and that was what inspired me to bring Bobi Wine.

I would say it was a good event for a start. Afterwards, I did one sports event at Petite Stade and it was the unveiling of the AND 1 mixtape. AND 1 is a big American athletic shoe company specializing in basketball shoes and clothing but which also has its own basketball team which is among the best in the world, so this too was a big event for me as a young promoter.

They played in Maputo, Nairobi, then they came to Kigali and I was contacted to do their event. 

Afterwards I went into comedy and later, I decided to specialize in comedy because I realized there is a need, because comedy had not been here yet like in other East African countries.

After doing the first show, the turn up was very good, and that was Comedy Central, the first comedy event at Carwash in 2013. The show was very successful and I was soon contacted by MTN. 

The second show was a two-day event at the Expo grounds, and then at the Serena Hotel. That was in July 2013.

The turn up was very good, although a few challenges came up here and there because it was still a young industry and awareness was a little bit low.

On ‘Man from Ombokolo’

He (Salvador) is one of the comedians I’ve worked with from the start because we worked together in Kampala, and when I came to Kigali, we worked together again on the first comedy event, so with time, he became both a brother and business partner.

So when we met recently in Kampala, he told me we should do something in Kigali this year. We scheduled three shows for this year, and we have done one. We are working on the next one in June, and another one later in the year.

We have come up with the idea of one man shows, because that’s how it’s done out there. That is why ‘Man from Ombokolo’ was a one man show. But it won’t be just Salvador coming for these one man shows, because he and I are also business partners so we will be contacting different comedians from different parts of the continent to stage their own solo comedy shows. In June, we are bringing Basket Mouth from Nigeria.

He has already confirmed the concert for June 4.