AT A TENDER AGE, Merci Ndaruhutse, commonly known by stage name as Fally Merci, did not know that he had the potential to one day become a professional comedian until his classmates realised his talent and advised him to explore it.

The more they encouraged him to do it the more he became passionate about it. And now he is doing it as a profession.

"When I was an ordinary level student, I was in boarding school and I was quiet and so shy that I feared speak to girls. I only spoke comfortably when we were at our hostels and many students would tell me that my words and character made them laugh so hard,” he narrates.

That time, Merci didn’t care about what his schoolmates were telling him until he reached senior four (S4).  That was the time he realised that he could actually do comedy.

In 2016, he texted established comedian, Arthur Nkusi, looking for advice on how he can make the best out of his joking talent and turn it into a profession.

"I sent him [Arthur] a text in January and he responded in September,” he laughs.

Arthur met Merci during the school holidays and gave him advice and a number of tips on how best he can develop his jokes into a comedy.

"From the very beginning, I realised it is so tough to start doing comedy on my own but when I started to build my jokes around his advice ... it worked,” he said.

His first comedy performance was in 2017 at Arthur’s comedy show ‘Ijoro Rya Rutura’ and his talent earned him opportunities to perform at bigger shows like Seka Live and Seka Fest, two big comedy shows organised by Arthur Nation management.

He was the only comedian who featured among the finalists of the first edition of Art-Rwanda Ubuhanzi which gave him chance to be one of the performers of last year’s Iwacu Muzika Festival.

Born in Gishushu, Gasabo District, Fally Merci is the third born in a family of four. He grew up as a funny boy and so many people from his young age have fond memories of him as someone who would make them laugh every time they were together.

 "The question that never misses in a conversation with someone whom I meet after a long time is ‘Do you still make people laugh?’”

"I found life in comedy because nothing makes me happier than making people laugh. It’s something I want to build a career around and I also wanted to play football but I realized that it wasn’t my call since my teammates would see only see everything I was doing during training sessions as ‘comic’,” he said.

Most jokes that the 22-year-old comedian makes are inspired by the life we live in and the Holy Bible.

He can tell jokes around everything that is trending in everyday life, but also ensures to read what the media reports so he can produce timely jokes for his supporters.

He nearly quit comedy

Had it not been for the passion and love he has for comedy, Fally Merci would have cut his career short in 2019 after he lost a girlfriend who perceived the majority of what he said as ‘a joke’.

"She [his girlfriend] skipped my appointment after we agreed to meet a date. I waited for her at the place we were supposed to meet but she thought I was joking. Another day she texted me asking whether I still love her and in a funny way, I texted her back ‘let me check!’ It was a funny answer but she blocked all channels of communication between us,” he said.

After that incident, Fally Merci realised that people sometimes get confused as to whether what you are saying is serious or a joke when you are a comedian.

"The day we parted ways, I thought of quitting comedy but I chose to carry on because I was already addicted to it. I love comedy but I managed to live this kind of life as a comedian and as a person,” he said.

Future plans

Like other artistes in the creative industry, the 22-year-old targets to do what it will take him to push his career to the international level, through different comedy content that he is looking forward to give his supporters.

"I don’t see my comedy career making me just a ‘newbie’ on the local scene. I want to make a name for myself that the world will one day know. I also want to inspire other young comedians to join this career and show them that it is not done just to make people laugh but also make a living out of it ,” he said

He is now working on a project that involves producing a comedy TV talk show dubbed "Meet Me Tonight” which he expects to start as long as the creative industry’s business comes back to normal life.