Churchill Show Archives - Ghafla! Kenya

Kenya is ripe for its very own MeToo movement

Posted on July 8, 2020 by Ozymandias

Kenya seems to be just at the cusp of its very own MeToo movement if recent events unfolding withing the entertainment and specifically the comedic industry are anything to go by.

Kenyan comedians need to take responsibility for their wellbeing

You see, the comedic scene is still grappling with the very recent and very raw passing of a comedian called Kasee and this galvanized Kenya’s top comedians to begin to speak out about the suffering they endure at the hands of the people who manage talent and in effect are the gate-keepers.

There are two names that have come up repeatedly over the past few days as the problem within the comedic space: Victor Ber and Avril’s baby daddy, Kenya’s very own Father Abraham, J Blessing. And this is the grassroots of Kenya’s MeToo movement.

Kenyan comedians should stay away from music!

You see, according to Kenyan comedians, these two go out of their way to frustrate them with regards to the Churchill Show. In Kenya, the comedic scene is rather nascent and the only avenue most comedians have convinced themselves that they need to get to in order to succeed is this one show.

the bane of kenyan comedians — Victor Ber accused of pushing comedians into depression

This in effect has put a crazy amount of power in the hands of the few individuals who make decisions regarding the show: decisions such as who will appear on the aired show which means money.

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

The MeToo that has formed seems to be aimed at exposing the two aforementioned individuals but perhaps we can help grow it. The time is right seeing as how the spirit of revolution is in the air. Kenyans could actually turn their movement into something that weeds out the worst of the individuals in power.

The Kenyan MeToo could progress beyond just focusing on individuals who practice sexual impropriety and also focus on people who also humiliate their charges. And that would do far more good.

Why Kenyan comedy doesn’t translate well outside Kenya

Ofcourse, having learnt from the Western MeToo movement, it wouldn’t be enough to have a name and shame approach as evidence would have to be proffered against the accused but this could actually help the entertainment industry at large to clean house and get rid of the parasites.

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It’s about time Churchill spoke up on the serious allegations touching on his show

Posted on July 1, 2020July 1, 2020 by Ozymandias

Time and time again, we’ve seen comedians coming out to protest about what goes on behind the scenes at Churchill Show – which airs on NTV.

More often than not, they always complain about the meager pay that they get after performing on the show, other times it’s about how hard it is to get a chance to go on stage.

Also read: “Ana roho chafu kama ya Firauni!” Zeddy exposes the Churchill Show official driving comedians into depression

However, it seems things keep getting worse. If you are an avid internet user then I am sure you heard that one of the show’s comics whose name is Kasee died under unclear circumstances on his way home a few days ago.

Churchill

But he is not the first Churchill Show comedian who has passed away under mysterious circumstances. Sometime a comic identified as Njenga Mswahili was found dead on the Dagoretti rail tracks.

I don’t know about you but this pattern is really worrying and I’m happy that former Churchill Show comedians like Zeinabu Zeddy have decided to shed light on this matter.

Through an Instagram post, she revealed that a good number of them are depressed because of the show’s Creative Director Victor Ber who seems to derive joy from frustrating them.

Churchill

She claimed that other than begging Ber, who is Teacher Wanjiku’s husband, for a chance to go on stage, he makes them feel worthless by dismissing them at his pleasure.

I’m sure there are other comedians who have gone through the same but for one reason or the other, they are afraid of speaking out.

However, what really surprises me is Churchill silence. When the two comedians died he sent a condolence message through his social media pages and that was it.

He has never come out to address the mistreatment claims or uttered a word about the little pay that the comedians get and you know it makes me wonder if we are just going to lose more lives while we sit back and watch.

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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