This was a stars-align kind of moment. An all-women comedy event, host included, held right in the middle of town at Alliance Française. Walking distance.
No Nairobi evening traffic. And it took place on a random Monday evening, which made it even better. Completely unexpected, but a perfect surprise.
This happened during the Rewind, Remix, Reclaim Festival.
Wondering what that is? It was an 11-day event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1985 UN World Conference on Women, which also took place in Nairobi. The event was organised by Alliance Française and the Goethe-Institut Nairobi.
Justine Wanda (Host)
Justine came in composed, making it look like hosting came easy to her. Some of her bits were familiar, but she blended them into the night seamlessly.
She joked about losing her Apple charger, dating outside her race, specifically trying to impress a Parklands Indian family, and a bit on protest in relation to phones.
She kept things grounded with jokes around matatu chaos, rogue pastors, and basically leaning on her brand, which is social commentary.
Then came a sharp bit about East African women’s foreheads that playfully challenged the crowd. She was a good opener and perfectly set the tone.
Racquel Anyango
Racquel looked nervous at first. You could tell the size of the crowd caught her off guard.
But what mattered was how quickly she found her footing. She pulled herself together and won the room over fast. I thought her material had potential in terms of structure, starting with her experience on a KBS bus, then switching gears to Nairobi dating, including a great joke about her ex.
Toward the end, she took it deeper. Her takes on motherhood, its pressures, contradictions, and expectations, were both bold and thoughtful. For the first official act, I thought she was okay. She could improve her transitions and closing.
Nduta Kariuki
Nduta, one of the hosts of the Kisiangani podcast, took her time on stage. Calm, casual, but still sharp. Her dry delivery and random one-liners had the room laughing early.
Her set leaned into identity, how people react to her height, voice, and presence. She talked about frightening strangers just by walking behind them, breaking her mother’s heart by not wanting children, and being mistakenly treated like an “inspiration.”
Then came the left turns: menstrual cramps, celibacy, and even a bit about punching a baby in the face. Absurd but hilarious. She handled herself well, but she could also improve her transition and closing, basically knowing when to end and ending on a high.
Ciku Waithaka
Ciku didn’t waste time. Her opening routine was unapologetically risqué and confidently delivered, with bits around tacos, sausages, and dating younger men.
But underneath the blue material was a real through-line about womanhood. She had bits on aging, Tinder, and body image. I loved the change of tone and pacing when she came in. And like the others, she kept it rooted in themes that matched the festival but still raw, raunchy and relevant.
Ruth Nyambura
Ruth closed the night with her signature low-key, soft-spoken, unassuming, and nonchalant tone, but she was totally in control. I thought her set had a lot of good bits, even though some of her material was familiar if you've seen her perform before, but she knew how to work a new crowd.
Her routine included bits on working in banking while doing comedy, joking with customers, and climbing corporate ladders.
Then she veered into the chaos of Nairobi love: LinkedIn and funerals, and being a hopeless romantic in a city that doesn’t make it easy. She touched on being single, being a woman, and doing stand-up. Her set was a lot of fun, and it worked very well as the closing act.
Final thoughts
All five comics brought something different, and all of them delivered a cocktail of different comedic flavours in a compact and perfectly paced event.
The event was about women, and I appreciate that the performers stuck to that. A few seemed a little shaken by the lights or the size of the crowd, but they recovered fast.
One thing that could be tightened across the board is transitions, basically creating a smooth set that you can't tell where one bit begins and the other ends.
A few acts could’ve used or taken advantage of the crowd and improv when the material they prepared drifted off. But generally, I thought they did a great job.
Nairobi International Comedy Festival is happening from August 12th to 17th, and here’s my pitch to the organisers: give these women their own day. Same setup, women hosting, women performing. Bring back this lineup, throw in Nelly and Mammito.
