Earlier this month, events promoter Abbey Musinguzi, popularly known as Abitex, organized a comedy festival in Kampala that reportedly ended in financial losses.
Abitex revealed that he invested more than UGX 220 million in the event but recovered only about UGX 150 million, leaving him with a significant loss.
Comedy Store proprietor Alex Muhangi has since shared his opinion on what he believes led to the event's poor performance. According to him, one of Abitex's biggest mistakes was failing to involve key stakeholders in Uganda's comedy industry, including himself and comedian Patrick Salvador.
Muhangi argued that while Abitex is an experienced events promoter, he lacks a deep understanding of the comedy business.
"One of the biggest mistakes Abitex made was failing to involve the key stakeholders in the comedy industry. We are a community, and that's how we've always operated. He doesn't understand the industry like Patrick Salvador and I do," he said.
Patrick Salvador echoed Muhangi's sentiments, claiming the promoter's intentions were not genuinely aimed at developing the comedy industry.
"Abitex's intentions were not to benefit the comedy industry; he had other motives. That's why you didn't see Muhangi and me involved. We saw what was going to happen," he added.