By our reporter
Anne Kubiryaba Kansiime is the leading female comedian in Uganda and she has been referred to as “Africa’s Queen of Comedy” by a number of both local and international media outlets.
She was born on 13 April 1986 in Mparo, Rukiga District.
Her father is a retired banker, and her mother is a housewife.
Kansiime attended Kabale Primary School. For her O-Level and A-Level education, she studied at Bweranyangi Girls’ Senior Secondary School in Bushenyi. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from Makerere University.
In 2007, while still an undergraduate at Makerere University, Kansiime began to participate in drama skits acted by the theatre group Theatre Factory, who played at the Uganda National Theatre in Kampala’s central business district.
When Theatre Factory disintegrated, she joined Funfactory, that replaced it. The best skits were broadcasted on NTV Uganda in the Barbed Wire TV show that later became U-Turn.
Later she partnered with Brian Mulondo as a Taxi interview conductor in the MiniBuzz series and provided comic video dramatizations of topical issues that random passengers discussed.
According to recorded interviews that she gave in 2014, Kansiime began posting some of her sketch comedy skits on YouTube.
She received positive feedback and that encouraged her to post more videos. Her screen breakthrough came when Citizen TV from neighboring Kenya offered her a slot to produce, star and present a comedy show once a week. That is how she came up with the Don’t Mess With Kansiime comedy show.
As of November 2014, her YouTube channel had amassed more than 15 million views. Her YouTube videos receive thousands of views and she has appeared on BBC Focus on Africa. She has played to packed houses in Blantyre, Gaborone, Kigali, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, Lilongwe, London, Lusaka and Harare.
Even amongst various acting commitments, Kansiime has continued performing and touring as a standup comedian. Kansiime’s comedy style tends to focus on aspects of her personal life. “I like talking about things that are going on in life, because that’s always going to be different and original,” she says.
In late 2017, Kansiime divorced her husband Gerald Ojok after four years of marriage.
Apparently, she is rumoured to be in a relationship with an Western Ugandan based upcoming artiste known as Sky the Ugandan.
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