President Paul Kagame on Friday, May 31, received celebrated American comedian Dave Chappelle at Urugwiro Village after his sold out private show in Kigali on Thursday. It was the comedian’s first ever trip and first performance in Rwanda. Chappelle, widely regarded as one of the best comedians in the world, staged his standup comedy show at Kōzo Kigali, a high end restaurant located in Kimihurura, where phones were not allowed into the venue. Rwandan comedians Arthur Nkusi and Herve Kimenyi were among notable attendees at the show lasted one hour and a half. Tickets for his performance, which sold out just a few hours after the event was announced, were going for Rwf200, 000, making it the most expensive concert to attend in the history of Rwanda. The comedian’s Kigali performance followed his Nairobi show on May 29, at National Museum of Kenya, where phones were also restricted from the event’s venue. Born in 1973 in Washington DC, Dave Chappelle began pursuing a career in stand-up comedy in high school. He made his debut film in Robin Hood: Men In Tights in 1993 and starred in the stoner comedy Half Baked later in the decade. The comedian hit the big time in 2003 with the launch of Chappelle's Show, before he abruptly walked away from the wildly popular program on the eve of its third season. Chappelle resumed touring as a stand-up comic in 2013 and later delivered a series of acclaimed specials for Netflix. He has received numerous accolades, including six Emmy Awards and five Grammy Awards, as well as the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2019, which is presented by the Kennedy Center as America's highest comedy honor.
