Seka Rising Stars, a group of budding comedians under the Seka Comedy banner, are the latest comedy sensation in Kigali.

The youthful comedians, all students from different secondary schools around Kigali, held their first exclusive comedy show at the 4G Square in the city centre Friday night.

Dubbed Seka na 4G, the show kicked off at 6pm and lasted about two hours. It drew a crowd of young Kigalians, mostly millennials, who filled out the 4G Square to the brim this past weekend.

Thanks to a partnership between Arthur Nation, the organisers and the 4G Square, the show was free of charge, prompting a large turnout.

Seka Rising Stars is the newest platform for identifying and nurturing upcoming local comedians, and the Seka na 4G show was the first major showcase of the talent identified so far.

The young comedy upstarts were selected out of auditions for budding comedians as part of the Seka Live comedy series, a tri-monthly comedy platform that is organised by Events company, Arthur Nation.

Auditions for the Seka Rising Stars took place in March last year, and out of 64 contestants, 17 finalists were selected. Of these, eleven performed at the 4th edition of Seka Live Comedy in June.

It is from these eleven that the best six were again preselected for the Seka na 4G show.

The evening kicked off on a musical note, with DJ entertainment from the NEP DJs.

Comedian Arthur Nkusi, founder of the Seka comedy series officially set the ball rolling at 6pm. He took turns with co-host Michael Sengazi to introduce the day’s performers.

Toussaint was the first act on stage and he did not disappoint, as did all the others after him. Patrick, Sept, Kepha, Divine, and Fally Merci.

Merci’s performance was without a doubt the show’s crowning moment, while Toussaint was another talent to watch.

According to Miss Rwanda 2015 third runner-up, Fiona Muthoni Naringwa, the PR and communications director of Arthur Nation, Seka na 4G was not only a chance to unveil the Seka Rising Stars, but also a promotional show for the 4G Square.

Nice Budandi, the operations manager of Arthur Nation, the ultimate objective is to turn Seka na 4G into a regular comedy platform for up-and-coming comedians in partnership with 4G Square.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw