Laughter has been prescribed by many certified medical practitioners and individuals across the globe as the best medicine, with some Chinese institutions hosting laughter sessions as a form of helping their employees relax. No wonder there is a growing recognition for comics across the globe as these laughter merchants peddle their craft on stages and leave their fans almost rolling on the floor and clutching their sides, faces contorted with intense laughter.
And like every occupation, these laughter merchants deserve the accolades they get and a whole lot more. Cue in the annual Savannah Comics Choice awards held is South Africa. The awards give recognition to all the local funnymen and women who are dedicated to making us laugh. The organization has introduced a new category giving recognition to comics outside of South Africa who are doing the most and the category is called the “Savannah Pan African Comic Of The Year Award”. This year, there are 5 nominees and they are listed below:
Carl Joshua Ncube: Zimbabwe
Performed across Africa, Asia, Europe and the USA. Comedy Central rates him as the best comic Zimbabwe has ever produced.
CNN African Voices also rates him as “the new face of Zimbabwean comedy”. Need we say more? His comedic exploits speak for themselves.
Charles Manase: Botswana
Born in Zimbabwe but relocated to Botswana where he has already carved out his own niche in the thriving local comedy space there. Born in 1990, this makes him the youngest comic in the nominations category, but don’t let his young age fool you, Charles can hold his own on any stage as his witty and intellectual verbose makes him a force to be reckoned with.
Basketmouth: Nigeria
A comic who needs no introduction. His trademark haircut, and witty retorts make him arguably one of the topmost comics on the continent. A multitalented comic, actor and TV personality, basketmouth has graced stages across the continent, Europe, Asia and the USA championing and headlining his own shows.
Anne Kansiime: Uganda
Born in 1986 in Uganda, Anne has been gracing stages with her presence since her university undergraduate days, when she joined the local theatre group which played at the Ugandan National theatre. Her personal exploits made her so popular that she received an irresistible offer from neighboring Kenya to produce a show; cue in the birth of “Don’t Mess With Kansiime”.
Salvado: Uganda
Real names Patrick Idringi. A semi finalist in the World’s Funniest Person Competition held in Helsinki, Finland. His acclaim has been so much that CNN posted this comment about him: “If laughter is the best medicine, then Salvador should be Uganda’s chief doctor”.
With the awards ceremony slated for September 8th in Johannesburg South Africa; we are wishing all the Pan African nominees success, not just at the awards ceremnony but on their global exploits as well.
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