Churchill Archives - Ghafla! Kenya

Churchill: It’s time we revisit the question of Kenyan comedians being entitled

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Ozymandias

We are back at that point at which the comedic scene has been hit with a tragic death and everyone seems to be mentioning Churchill’s name. The reason for this is because it seems like Kenyan comedians hold him solely responsible for their economic frustrations. I would like to encourage you to hearken you to a previous argument I put forth a few months ago when we were once again dealing with the same debate.

Othuol Othuol’s burial plans underway with expenses running upwards of KSh1M

“Kenyan comedians need to stop placing the blame for everything on Churchill and his company. Why do I say this you ask? Well, because whenever anything terrible happens to a comic, the choral song of choice is that they are all because of Churchill or his company Laugh Industry in some capacity.

Churchill Show's Othuol in a past performance — Comedian Othuol Othuol

Kenyan comedians aren’t a mad lot so ofcourse there is some truth to the fact that some of the people or some of the situations that are toxic in the Kenyan comedians’ space are from Churchill’s company but that is because it is the biggest company in that space and field.

Churchill Show comedian suddenly disappears

That said and noted, it is almost like Kenyan comedians are not willing to assess their situations and taking responsibility for them. This is actually indicative of a “woah is me” and “poor me” mentality. And the underlying problem here is one of both lack of vision and lack of an appetite for risk and success.

Othuol and Churchill — Comedian Othuol with his boss Churchill

Kenyan comedians need to remember that Churchill wasn’t handed the perch he currently enjoys, he had to work for everything he got. When he started out, it wasn’t like he got anyone’s name or some uncle that introduced him to the right people. He started off by doing bit comedy on the Redykulas show.”

How Churchill Show comedian lost whopping KSh100K after trusting a friend (Screenshots)

The reason why these words are coming back is because of the unfortunate death of Othuol Othuol who was sick for an extended period of time as he fought for his life but he ultimately succumbed and once more, we see comedians such as Rapcha The Sayantist take subliminal shots at Churchill. For some reason, the assumption is that the popular comedian did nothing to help yet another comedian tied to his Laugh Industry stable yet Othuol himself gave his own account of things and mentioned the man whose platform he was using to popularise himself was the only one of two individuals helping him out financially.

Rapcha The Sayantist speaks on Churchill and Othuol

And at the heart of the matter is an entitlement culture that comedians seem to have adopted. Rather than think of ways to safeguard their futures by say, coming up with contribution schemes that can be tapped into for health-related issues. Alternatively, rather than using Churchill’s platforms, these guys can organize comedy specials like Vivianne’s husband Sam West does. The only limit to this happening is their willingness to actually take the initiative to make it happen.

Churchill should be responsible for the well-being of his comedians

At the end of the day, this “Woe is us” song is now played out.

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Kenyan comedians need to take responsibility for their wellbeing

Posted on July 1, 2020 by Ozymandias

Kenyan comedians need to stop placing the blame for everything on Churchill and his company. Why do I say this you ask? Well, because whenever anything terrible happens to a comic, the choral song of choice is that they are all because of Churchill or his company Laugh Industry in some capacity.

“Ana Roho chafu kama ya Firauni!” Zeddy exposes the Churchill show official driving comedians into depression

Kenyan comedians aren’t a mad lot so ofcourse there is some truth to the fact that some of the people or some of the situations that are toxic in the Kenyan comedians’ space are from Churchill’s company but that is because it is the biggest company in that space and field.

kenyan comedians blame churchill — Owago and Churchill

That said and noted, it is almost like Kenyan comedians are not willing to assess their situations and taking responsibility for them. This is actually indicative of a “woah is me” and “poor me” mentality. And the underlying problem here is one of both lack of vision and lack of an appetite for risk and success.

Kenyan comedians should stay away from music!

Kenyan comedians need to remember that Churchill wasn’t handed the perch he currently enjoys, he had to work for everything he got. When he started out, it wasn’t like he got anyone’s name or some uncle that introduced him to the right people. He started off by doing bit comedy on the Redykulas show.

From there, he built himself up by networking and leveraging his already existing body of work and then when he had finally created a platform for himself, he opened it up to Kenyan comedians who lacked similar vision. So whether or not he is a problematic individual to work with or he hires problematic people to work with, you cannot ignore the fact that Kenyan comedians have just refused to put in the work to build their own platforms.

Kenyan online comedians and the significant role they have played during the pandemic

Blaming Victor Ber for the death of an individual is seeking external players to apportion responsibility. When a comedian dies, it is unfortunate that the same song is sung: “These guys mistreat us” and we are treated to the choral performance of that award-winning song (not so award-winning) and then we wait for them to watch another of their ranks die before ululating and starting that well-worn song.

The smart play at this point is for Kenyan comedians to decide to come together, leverage any relationships they have, create their own companies and do their comedy there. Or alternatively, organize comedy specials like Vivianne’s husband Sam West does. The only limit to this happening is their willingness to actually take the initiative to make it happen.

Jalango’s philanthropy proves Kenyan women love money over everything

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Why Kenyan comedy doesn’t translate well outside Kenya

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Ozymandias

Kenyans seem to be unable to carry Kenyan comedy beyond the borders of our third world nation and this is a very interesting phenomenon. I am not referring to social media comedians because that is an entirely different ballgame -social media comedians rarely translate well off social media. I am referring to stand up comedians. Countries like Nigeria and South Africa, even Ghana have created some world-renown comedians who have taken to global stages but when it comes to Kenyans, for some reason we seem to stagnate at regional stages and even there, our comedians are often the least entertaining.

Why comedians do not call out Churchill and suffer silently

Perhaps it’s down to the fact that Kenyans are so PC (politically correct) out of fear of being accused of being too controversial yet time tested and proven formula for comedians is for them to inflame emotions. Why? because they critique society. So I found myself coming up with reasons as to why Kenyan comedy seems to be consigned to the fate of remaining a largely Kenyan affair:

#1. Kenyan comedy is too local

When you think of Eric Omondi, Churchill or MC Jesse, what comes to mind? Local content drilled down so specifically, it only serves the niche that believes ethnic humour is funny. If say, you’re a Kenyan who doesn’t find ethnic humour hilarious, it fails to hit the mark with you. Say, you’re a Kenyan with global exposure either through access to foreign media or you have travelled/ lived abroad, it fails to hit the mark.
Now imagine if you will, a Ugandan listening to a Kenyan comedy skit talking about Kikuyus from Nyeri. Or a Zambian listening to a Kenyan comedy skit talking about a Luhya’s appetite, how the hell will they click with the humour?

#2. Kenyan comedy has stagnated -refused to grow out of its mould

When you think of Vitimbi, Vioja Mahakamani, you will be forgiven to think that this is the old school way of doing comedy. It is on the nose, low IQ, ethnic-based -essentially slapstick humour. And while this clearly had a fan base and a large one at that, such humour is contextual. It performed well because of the context. This was before social media allowed Kenyans to consume humour from other countries and it was all we knew from a social standpoint.
Problem is, the new crop of Kenyan comedians have simply pushed on with this same formula. That is why shows like Real Househelps of Kawangware is a thing yet it is simply the same script, different cast. Kenyan comedy, like a virus, continues to replicate itself in the same format because it mistakenly assumes that this is the tried and tested winning play.

Back like he never left! Mulamwah bounces back a week after quitting comedy

#3. Kenyan comedy lacks satirical content

Satire is comedic gold but because Kenyan comedy relies heavily on politicians and businessmen to be its benefactors, it refuses to poke fun at some of the more glaring issues these individuals have. Kenyan comedians refuse to hold up a mirror to the Kenyan society because they are scared to strike out a new path. So we are stuck with the same low brow, troglodyte humour about “my name is Mary, I come from Nyeri, I eat githeri ~~bullshit~~.
To build this point further for the unimaginative among us, political situations in Kenya can be paralleled to situations in Nigeria. South Africa’s social-economic realities are similar to an extent to Kenya’s. That is why Trevor Noah was funny while he was talking about South Africa. But you have to first cut your chops on local satire to learn how to blend it to different realities.

#4. Kenyans abroad lack an identity

Kenyan comedy suffered because Kenyans abroad lack an identity. When West Africans in the diaspora land there, they resolve to maintain their culture. They celebrate it. Kenyans on the other hand, resolve to maintain their ethnic cultures. That is why you will find (and they hate it when this is pointed out to them) but when they can help it, they will tend to gravitate towards members of their own ethnic communities. West Africans identify first as West Africans then by their nations.
As a result, this keeps Kenyan comedians from having to innovate their humour when they go for comedic tours abroad.

#5. Kenyan comedy is stunted by the lack of an intelligent audience

We are troglodytes. We enjoy simplistic humour so we don’t have to think too hard. Kenyan comedy is pragmatic. Why reinvent the wheel when it works so well?

Kings of Kenyan comedy — Owago and Churchill

And this is why Kenya has failed to produce the next Trevor Noah, someone who can appeal to a wide audience and not just his fellow compatriots. It is why for Kenyan comedians to get a show abroad, it has to be organized by Kenyans living in the diaspora. It’s why Kenyans have yet to produce Russell Peters of our own.

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Why comedians do not call out Churchill and suffer silently

Posted on April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 by Ozymandias

The past few days have seen Kenyan comedian and entrepreneur Churchill come under some fierce scrutiny as he has been “exposed” for allegedly mistreating his guys at Laugh Industry. The guys I am referring to are his creatives, his comedians who it is said, get a raw deal when they sign on to be a part of his company and subsequently, part of his TV shows Churchill Show or Churchill Raw.

“It’s a scam!” Local comedian exposes the rot in Churchill Show (Screenshots)

Proof of this has been the much-touted financial suffering some of the comedians have gone through due to allegedly lopsided contracts that have led them to depression and some at one point or another either left the company to try strike it out on their own or they entirely quit comedy altogether.

Comedian Mulamwa exposes Churchill comedian for stealing his jokes

Assuming these allegations are true and there is some level of slave contracts getting dolled out by Laugh Industry, why are some of the most vocal and creative people we know, willing to suffer in silence under Churchill? I cannot stress it enough that from here on out, we are working under the supposition that Churchill really does give his comedians a raw deal. Now back to the question at hand. Why are these comics willing to eat excrement?

The only logical reason is they have gone into survival mode knowing full well they cannot win against the gatekeepers of the industry. Apart from a few comedians who have managed to get different platforms that helped them amplify their voices, either on the radio or different TV stations, what alternatives do Kenyan comedians have if they do not want to work with Churchill?
There is the internet. Indeed. But just ask Malumwa about the pitfalls of the internet.

Churchill throws shade at keyboard warriors criticizing him on social media

And in truth, a lot of the comedians we see on the Churchill Show do not have the exposure to understand just how they can use the internet to create an independent platform of their own leveraging their followers. So they feel trapped.
Add to this the fact that some of the comedians who ditched the Churchill show to start their own shows had to crawl back on their knees when their shows flopped and got cancelled.

But at the end of the day, the day ends. And the comedians need to learn to use the internet as it is their only platform free of politics and blackballing that can happen if they offend the gatekeepers.

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“The gynaecologist said the baby died at seven weeks.” Terence’s wife speaks of losing her first pregnancy

Posted on April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 by Pauline Syombua

Comedian Lawrence Macharia, alias Terence Creative, and his wife Milly Chebby have just welcomed a new baby.

Terence’s wife delivered on April 15 morning and immediately informed her fans on social media.

”Guess who is here, follow Milla Netai. Raising Milla,” Terrence wrote. while the wife posted: “Introducing Milla Netai. Follow follow follow.”

Speaking to The Star, Milly said she’s more than excited she delivered because she lost her first baby in January.

“I was 13 weeks pregnant, but the gynaecologist said the baby died at seven weeks. I developed complications at a very early stage and when we went to the hospital, we did a check of the heartbeat of the baby, but the doctor said the child was not breathing,” she said.

Depressed

The two, who met in 2013, at Churchill Show where they both worked, were depressed after losing their first child but to soldier up and remove the dead fetus.

“I was in denial and I did not want to do the evacuation. I went home and even slept for two hours, but my husband insisted that we go to the hospital,” she said.

They have named their newborn Milla Netai, meaning Millicent and Lawrence, the couple’s names. Milla also means fear and hope. Netai is a Kalenjin name meaning Alpha or first.