This archive report was first published on 27 June 2020.
Kenyan Comedian Kevatin Ditches Shaniqwa Character for New Male Nickname ¶
Published on June 27, 2020
Kenyan comedian Kevatin, who rose to fame with his character Shaniqwa, has made a surprising decision to ditch the popular name and is now using a new male nickname, Karishizzo Mashizzo.
Shaniqwa, a cross-dressing character, was a huge hit among Kenyans, with many people loving how perfectly he could imitate slay queens and women. The character brought Kevatin a lot of money through shows and endorsement deals.
However, Kevatin had earlier revealed in interviews that the character Shaniqwa was quite a challenging one as it was interfering with his life off the screens. He also faced challenges such as people confusing him for a gay man due to his costume and makeup.
It is not yet clear why Kevatin made the decision to ditch the Shaniqwa character, but he has changed his Instagram bio to read 'Formerly Shaniqwa Mama Yao', indicating that he no longer uses the name.
As Kevatin tries to build a new brand, it remains to be seen whether his new character, Karishizzo Mashizzo, will be as successful as Shaniqwa.
