After Kenya shut down its economy to battle the coronavirus pandemic, its comedians took to social media to entertain the public with stories of their journeys to stardom. Their tales tended to follow a rags-to-riches narrative: They left rural homes and moved to a big city to try their hand at an acting career. They shared single-roomed, tin-walled shacks with other impoverished residents in Nairobi’s slums. Some slept on the streets. Others were housed by relatives or sheltered by prostitutes, living in dingy dwellings in back alleys. But eventually they achieved fame and fortune.
