Kisima Awards: The Good & The Bad

In the run up to Kisima, there was some skepticism over the gala considering
all the artistes that had dropped out of the show. What was supposed to be a
grand celebration of the annual show’s 10th anniversary started looking like its
worse start ever.

But people showed up for the ceremony. And they dressed up. With all the
controversy it almost seemed ballsy for the Kisima officials to hire out the entire
Tsavo ballroom, which if I’m not wrong, is the biggest ballroom in the country
(maybe region). The place actually filled up.

I will start with the things that didn’t go so well since they were fairly minor.
Kind of.

THE BAD
Timing: It was a while before the show started. And by a while, I mean forever.
At least they had the DJ playing old school Kenyan hits before it started. And
when it started the politicians wasted even more time with speeches,
introductions and promises.

First Announcement: The first award announcement almost ruined the entire
show. It’s all about first impressions. Luckily, other presenters salvaged the
situation. The person meant to come on stage and introduce the nominees and
give out the first award blurted out “Camp Mulla” even before he had stopped
on stage. He actually said it walking from backstage. The nominees hadn’t even
been announced. If it wasn’t for the hosts, we would not even have known
which category it was for. “Rudi utangaze hiyo kitu vizuri,” some fans shouted at
him.

THE GOOD
Performances: Rabbit, Judith Bwire and Daddy Owen gave out a pretty good
show. And just because I didn’t mention the rest doesn’t mean they were bad.
Actually, even the less known performers didn’t make us cringe as most do.
Daddy Owen’s performance with Denno was touching and it brought everyone
to their feet. Rabbit came out with a pretty neat suit, a crown on his head and a
trio of violinists for his performance of Swahili Shakespeare.

Hosts: Amina and Solo made a great pair. Even the cheesiest part where they
both tried to sing was pretty good. I’ve seen good solo hosts but a lot of times,
two hosts tend to mess each other up. And these ones were good.

Pacing: It was a while before they started handing out the awards but after they
did, it moved on briskly. Performances and announcements were metered well.

Direction: Except for the earlier mishap with the presenter, the show moved
very smoothly. Know those dead moments when no one knows what’s going on
or what will happen next? That seems like a Kenyan awards signature but at
Kisima, things were always moving. Artistes came on stage almost as soon as
they were announced to perform. And even the fairly elaborate sets worked as
well as the simpler ones. Huge plus. By the end, the show had been going on
for six hours and we had been sitting in there for much longer, and we barely
even noticed it.

Good work in the organization of the Kisima Awards. Now if they were only to
work on the controversy, this will undoubtedly become the best awards show in
the region.