BY NELIWE NGUBANE
MBABANE – Laughter travelled across borders and landed in Eswatini over the weekend, but behind the jokes and applause was a bigger ambition – putting the kingdom’s comedians on stages beyond its borders.
The third edition of the Eswatini Comedy Festival, held at SibaneSami Hotel under the theme “Africa is coming to Eswatini, One Stage, One Continent, Endless Laughter”, brought comedians from across Africa together in a showcase that doubled as a meeting point for talent, cultures and opportunities.
For local comedians, the significance went beyond sharing a microphone with international performers. The festival is increasingly becoming a platform through which Swati comedians can build relationships, learn from established performers and connect with comedy circuits outside the country.
Festival organiser Dr Shakes said the idea was born from a simple question: why should the world not know how funny Eswatini is?
He said local comedians have their own stories, characters and experiences, which deserve to be introduced to audiences beyond the kingdom.
This year’s programme featured performers from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, including Smowkey and Mbali Gudazi from South Africa, Courage from Namibia, OD Brooks from Botswana, Q Dube from Zimbabwe and Cleyton Msosa from Tanzania.
They shared the stage with Eswatini’s Darren, Mbukiso, Sewakhile and Magongo The Comedian.
Rather than keeping international and local talent in separate spaces, organisers placed them side by side, creating an environment where emerging performers could watch, interact and perform alongside comedians with experience on regional stages.
According to Dr Shakes, the festival is therefore about more than filling seats.
“It is about putting the country’s talent on international stages,” he said.
Those ambitions are already being supported by growing links with comedy festivals and platforms in Botswana, Zambia, Lesotho and Uganda, which have begun creating opportunities for Swati comedians to travel and perform.
The festival also highlighted the need for greater representation of women in comedy. South Africa was represented by a female comedian, while local performer Makwa Sfonyo made her festival debut, adding another female voice to the programme.
For upcoming comedians, the stage offered more than a few minutes behind the microphone. It provided exposure, networking and the chance to gain confidence by performing alongside established acts.
As laughter crossed borders at SibaneSami, the festival left behind a message bigger than the punchlines: Eswatini does not only want Africa to come and laugh – it wants its own comedians to leave the kingdom and make Africa laugh too.
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(Courtesy Pic)
