Thapelo Malani gets a standing ovation in Zambia

The biggest international comedy festival in Zambia, ZED Laughs Festival was held this past weekend in the capital city Lusaka. The event featured top comedians from Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Botswana was well represented by the visually impaired Thapelo Malani who in August headlined a show in Lusaka.

The event which had a capacity crowd was patronised by different nationals and was held at the prestigious Mulungushi International Conference Center. Thapelo proved he is a force to reckon with, belting out witty and humorous punch lines about his disability and life in general. His impressive performance earned him a standing ovation at the end of his act. The performance was so well received that the Mayor of Lusaka who was in attendance rewarded him with some Kwachas. In Zambia when the crowd enjoys your performance they pop up money and give you whilst on stage and who better for the Botswana comedian than the Mayor.

He conducted interviews on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Morning Live show, Hot FM radio and was also on CBC Television.Talent manager at Major Moves Comedy, Gaolathe Kediemetse said, “Our main aim is not only to bring top class comedians to our stages, but we have to export our talent across Southern Africa and to other countries beyond where they can experience different crowds. Experience is the best teacher, and we want to develop our comedians by getting them to perform on the best platforms with the best comics and ultimately be able to perform internationally frequently making a living off comedy.”