You can never scroll past your TikTok feed and not spot the ever-so-funny Wazi Kunene’s hilarious skits. 

Kunene was born, and in her own words “traumatised” in Pietermaritzburg before she moved to the hustle and bustle of the City of Gold to pursue her lifelong dream as a comedian. 

The 30-year-old is a children’s literature writer for Oxford University press and does stand-up comedy in her spare time. “I also hustle for screen jobs as an actor to a point where I audition almost every day. 

“Making people laugh and connecting to them is what I enjoy the most. I believe my skits bring light and laughter to those who watch them and that is what matters to me the most,” she explains. 

While her TikTok skits are vastly different from her stand-up comedy, Kunene sought online comedy as an outlet during the pandemic as lockdown restrictions barred her and many other comics in the country from conducting physical performances. 

“I’ve been on TikTok for close to a year now and I’m still getting into the groove of things, seeing that I don’t post that often. Despite us being under lockdown, I told myself that I still wanted to connect to people and make them laugh, hence I started sharing my content online. 

“I was actually motivated by the notion that ‘life might end soon’, so I saw the urgency to push my comedy on a broader scale ... which is online.” 

As lockdown dragged for over the 21 days that the government had initially set to over 20 months, Kunene started curating comedic content that would help expose and redirect people to her craft and her name once restrictions were lifted.

She has been a touring comedian since 2018 and is currently on tour doing her standup special titled Dawn, which she launched at the Joburg Theatre in December. 

“There was no defining age or moment where I realised that I’m a funny person. I’m just funny in general… humour and I are inseparable,” she adds. “At any moment, through anything, however difficult the situation is, I always find humour in it.”

Kunene admits that at a very young age, she knew she was destined to be a light to people through her comedy. 

This she realised when she went through a suicidal moment in grade 8 where she wanted to end her life – she knew then that she had a purpose in this world to bring joy and laughter. 

With the belief that the world needs more humour, Kunene is set to bring chuckles to people in Durban and Cape Town next month.