Kimenyi thrills comedy lovers in Kampala

IT was a hilarious atmosphere as one of Rwanda’s top comedians Herve Kimenyi thrilled fans to rib cracking jokes at the national theatre in Kampala, Uganda. Kimenyi was the main act alongside Uganda’s greats in comedy that performed last Friday night. The fun filled Umunezero show hosted by Pablo live comedy, started at 7:30 pm. Nkwanzi cultural troupe spiced up the show with great energy and creative moves. The organiser of the event – Pablo, a leading Kampala comedian, lined up a number of his counterparts such as Bernard Senyomo aka Smar and Bob Nuwagira, who have already made their mark in the industry. At around 9pm, Pablo introduced the main act of the night Kimenyi on stage, and the acclaimed standup comedian did what he does best. Kimenyi held the crowd spell bound as every joke he cracked was well received. “When you get a European visa, they tell you congratulations, as if you’re graduating from university! For the first time in my life I was a minority, and I could also see for the first time people not dancing according to the right music beats,” he said, sending his audience into prolonged laughter. The comedians touched on social issues, especially what happens within the region which saw the crow d rocking with laughter. Rwandas High Commissioner to Uganda, Frank Mugambagye, amongst the dignitaries in attendance, could not help but laugh along openly. Kimenyi took the audience through a story of when his mother scolded him for telling her that her laptop had been infected with a virus. The poor old lady associated this to Kimenyi’s friend who was believed to be HIV positive. Also, Kimenyi’s stage strokes caught the attention of ladies in the house, consequently many reached for their phones to take a recording of the performance. The night even got more humorous when Pablo performed dance strokes to mimmick people in his remote village like herdsmen, carpenters, and brewers of local beer. But the night was not done yet. Nuwagira, aka Uncle Bob put up a captivating show with his jokes which he said are picked from daily life experiences. There was rib breaking laughter when he said that nowadays job interviews are conducted according to one’s height. “There are questions in an interview asked these days”, he said. For a tall person, they will ask; where do you see this company in five years to come? While, for a short person, he will be asked; where was this company five years ago,” Nuwagira said amid laughter from the crowd. As the night closed in, the Kwanzi cultural troupe put up a top-notch performance when they belted out the crowds favourite song Nyaruguru, a popular hit in Kampala. Pablo fired up the crowd when he joined the group, donning Kinyarwanda traditional wear and danced to the song. “Kimenyi’s style is very good. It is different and it has a lot of intellectual jokes which gives you food for thought. These jokes are relevant to Ugandans,” Pablo said. Kimenyi told The New Times after the show that with this exposure outside Rwanda, many more sponsors back home would get on board after realizing the potential of local talent. The Pablo live comedy monthly show, partly sponsored by RwandAir has in the past also attracted Nigeria’s Klint da Drunk who has created a niche in the industry.

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Kimenyi thrills comedy lovers in Kampala