B-Metro
Langalakhe Mabena
Umahlekisa founder Ntando Van Moyo has described the late award winning stand-up comedian Clive Chigubu as a stalwart who played an instrumental role in the birth, recognition and appreciation of stand-up comedy in Bulawayo.
Chigubu died at the age of 31 years on 27 April after battling Diffuse Large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a type of cancer which had left him bedridden.
Ntando Van Moyo said he met the late father of one back in 2009.
“I met Clive in 2009 and I would like to believe that God brought us together for a great cause. Back then there was Babongile Sikhonjwa who was a huge man in the stand-up comedy sect.
“I related to Clive because we were both young and we had a dream of becoming household names and make locals understand the craft of stand-up comedy.
“Because of that, we decided to do collaborative shows so as to strengthen our set and eventually we marked the revolution of comedy to be what it is today in Bulawayo and Zimbabwe,” said Van Moyo.
Chigubu played a huge role in the establishment of Umahlekisa which is one of the biggest comedy clubs in Zimbabwe, as he was a consultant for the club.
“One thing of Clive is that he was a genius and no local comedian can claim he matched him. This is cemented by how his skits went viral more than that of any comedian.
“When we launched Umahlekisa in 2013, I knew what I wanted to achieve with this baby, but Chigubu came into play as a consultant.
“He gave me directions on how to run the club and also gave me ideas on how to implement and see objectives and aims of Umahlekisa coming into fruition.
“As a club we celebrate and mourn him because he breathed his vision and success to this club. We have survived for such a period because of the instrumental guidance he gave to the club,” said Van Moyo.
As Umahlekisa will be celebrating nine years of existence through the Trade Fair Loughs gig today (29 April) at Hope Centre, Van Moyo said they would use the platform to mourn and celebrate Chigubu’s life.
“Well we don’t want to pre-empt anything but tonight at our show we will do something in his memory.
“We have also teamed up with other comedy movements in the country to do tribute/benefit shows in May in his honour and to assist the family. We will of course reveal long term plans as and when they will happen.
“At the gig we will have a booth for those that want to make donations in cash or any kind towards the funeral and general expenses,” said Van Moyo.
