Rwandan comedy enthusiasts have requested the performance of Ugandan comedian, Patrick Idringi, commonly known as Salvador, at the monthly ‘Seka Live’, as per a public poll conducted by Arthur Nation on various socials over the past week. The 37-year-old comedian who last performed in Kigali in 2016, was confirmed as the next headliner for the July edition of the monthly comedy show. After Eric Omondi’s fairy-tale a fortnight ago, Salvador is now ‘Seka Live’s’ next pick and the comedian honoured Arthur Nation’s invitation after dominating the polls. “Salvador was the most requested comedian for the month of July. After the event, I asked people in the room who they wanted next, and Salvador was one of them. I ran a poll on my socials and his name appeared. It was easy for me to know whom they wanted to see next. That’s how we make all our line-ups,” Nkusi said. In 2019, Salvador was involved in a Twitter feud with a section of Rwandans who accused him of being naïve and ignorant. In a clip that circulated widely at the time, the Ugandan comedian joked about East African cabin crews and their use of local languages in in-flight announcements before they speak in English. And, when Rwanda became his next example, Salvador’s emphasis was on how a RwandAir announcer greets passengers in Kinyarwanda after boarding, before giving out flight details during which he mentioned some key words “Amafaranga”, “Amahoro”, “Paul Kagame”, “Amahanga” then “Genocide”. While the way he was pronouncing the words with sort of gibberish, purportedly Kinyarwanda, sent the audience into bouts of laughter, the joke in which he mentions ‘Genocide’ did not go well with Rwandans, with some describing the joke as ‘tasteless’ while others said it trivialises the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He later apologised to Rwandans and is now ready to make amends with his Kigali audience. “Kigali, it’s been a minute, I have some bridges to mend, sorries to say, apologies to make but most importantly laughter to create … can’t wait to come back home,” the comedian tweeted. Slated for July 31 at M-Hotel, the comedy show is quickly reliving the hype it always gathered before the Covid-19 outbreak as more comedians across Africa look to join the show and reinvent a laughing vibe among Kigali’s comedy enthusiasts. The likes of Nigerians Basket Mouth, Klint da Drunk, Daliso Chaponda (Zambia-Malawi), Anne Kansiime, Teacher Mpamire and Salvador (all Uganda), Loyiso Madinga and Ndumiso Lindi (both South Africa), Carl N’cube (Zimbabwe) and Eric Omondi (Kenya) are among Africa’s leading comedians who have graced the ‘Seka Live’ stage with the majority interested to return. For Nkusi and his company, Arthur Nation, it’s not something that came by magic; he dedicates effort in building a network, as well as the ‘never give up’ spirit that his team has shown throughout the past five years. “This means that ‘Seka Live’ is on a good path to its mission. We want to be the biggest international comedy platform in Africa,” he tells Weekender. The next guests on ‘Seka Live’s’ future stage, Nkusi reveals, are South African comedian, television host, actor, and political commentator Trevor Noah, Loyiso Ngola (South Africa) and British-Congolese comedian Eddie Kadi, among others. “These are names we would love to have on ‘Seka Live’,” he says.
