Long before he was performing hour-long comedy sets, Muhinde was one of the youngest comedians on the Gen-Z Comedy Show lineup. Now 23, he is taking his stand-up into English as part of an ambition to perform for international audiences. His journey began at the former Art Rwanda Ubuhanzi premises in Rugando, where the comedy platform was still in its early days. The stage may have changed, but the goal has only grown. ALSO READ: Rising funnyman ‘Muhinde’ on comedy journey, future plans “My comedy has changed a lot because, the more you perform, the more experience you gain,” Muhinde said. “At first, I used to do one-liners, where a joke would last around 60 seconds. But now I’ve evolved into more of a storyteller.” In comedy, a one-liner is a short joke built around a single punchline. Storytelling goes further, letting the comedian build a scene, add details and stretch a performance into a longer set. For Muhinde, that shift has come with confidence on stage and more room to develop his ideas. ALSO READ: Funnyman Babu introduces Kigali’s first English comedy concept “I’m much more comfortable on stage now, and I can perform for an hour or more,” he said, referencing his hour-long Gen-Z Comedy special, Graduation, held in May. That growth has helped shape a bigger goal. Muhinde said performing in English is about making his work understandable to audiences outside the country and preparing for stages beyond Kigali. “What mainly influenced that decision is my goal of becoming an international comedian and representing my country abroad,” he said. “Performing in English allows my comedy to reach a wider audience.” ALSO READ: Art Rwanda-Ubuhanzi celebrates third cohort winners at creative festival He said the language shift has changed how he writes, too. Instead of leaning too heavily on local references that only some audiences may understand, he now thinks about material that can connect across cultures while still sounding like him. “If someone watches my performance tonight, I would want them to remember me as a comedian who does research before going on stage,” he said. “I want my jokes to carry a message or a lesson behind the laughter.” Research, in his case, means paying attention to the people, places and habits around him before building a set. “It is part observation, part writing, and part listening to how audiences respond.” He said that preparation helps him keep his comedy grounded in real life. Muhinde said people sometimes assume comedians spend their lives joking, but the work often begins in ordinary, serious moments. “Many people think comedians are always joking or living a life full of laughter,” he said. “That is not true. A comedian is still a normal person. We go through serious moments too. We laugh, we cry, we struggle and we deal with real life challenges just like everyone else.” For him, the job is finding a way to turn those experiences into material that audiences can recognize. He said that the process often begins with discomfort, then becomes something shared. His style, he said, is built around turning struggle into humour. Some of his material comes from personal experiences, including the teasing he once faced about his size. Rather than avoid those moments, he puts them to work on stage. “My style of comedy is turning struggle into humor,” he said. “A lot of my material comes from my personal experiences, especially things people once mocked me for, like my size. Over time, I learned how to transform those moments into jokes that connect with people and make them laugh.” That approach, he said, reflects what he looks for in everyday life. Trends, difficult moments and ordinary interactions all feed the writing process. The hardest experiences, he believes, often produce the strongest jokes because they are the most honest. He described comedy as a way of bringing together pain and laughter, a kind of balancing act where the audience laughs at something that began as a real challenge. That tension, he said, is where his best material often starts. The move into English comedy now gives him a wider stage for that style. It also puts him in a line of performers who are building work that can move between local audiences and broader platforms without losing its point of view.
