17 Mar 2022

Comedian Obzar Modidima, real name - Omphile Johane, is of the view that unconventional ways of disseminating information are needed to fight gender based violence( GBV).

Speaking in an interview with BOPA recently, Obzar said some of the risk factors for gender-based violence, that in many instances result in murder-suicide, include history of domestic violence.

He said such factors triggered the need to come up with unconventional ways of attacking the monster, hence he decided to use comedy to fight GBV .

The comedian, who hails from Maun, said he was playing his part in human development through edutainment, adding that if fully explored, comedy had potential to beat undesirable social elements that fuel gender based violence and murder-suicide.

He said people get into relationships for the wrong reasons such as material gain and not love, therefore ended up living under appalling conditions, which is why he came up with an edutainment strategy to educate people that only God has the power to mend their broken hearts.

Obzar said his comedy focused on real life issues to teach Batswana that many problems had solutions and there was nothing that God could not do, adding that he fused comedy with gospel music to spread the Word of God, to help change people’s lives for the better.

He said fusing gospel and comedy was working wonders in transforming lives as he had over 300 000 followers countrywide on his Facebook page: Obzar Modidima Bw.

His albums include Ka leso la ga Mme and Modimo wame o ntlogeletseng.

The comedian, a staunch member of Rara Apostolic Church in Zion, also based in Maun said he was a teetotaller and did not smoke.

Obzar said some of his gigs include being roped in by Mascom to promote M’Booste and Mascom Derby 2019 horse race,  as well as the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) after completion of the Kazungula Bridge.

He said he embarked on a countrywide tour to sell Tswii, a water tuber plant found only in Maun, to give other Batswana an opportunity to taste it, which he said was healthy. ENDS