Africa's Storytellers
MultiChoice is home to a variety of well-known brands that deliver exceptional content across a range of platforms. Our brands are constantly evolving to ensure our customers receive the very best in entertainment
As Africa’s most-loved storyteller, MultiChoice is committed to telling narratives of our past, present, and future. We asked three extraordinary poets – Lebohang Masango, Mumbi Macharia and Chika Jones – to create a rather remarkable on-air promo, entitled “Ten Thousand Stories”, which celebrates our diversity and highlights the importance of tales told by Africans, for Africans.
Lebohang Masango, the originator of the work, is a South African writer and poet with an MA in Social Anthropology from the University of Witwatersrand. She salutes MultiChoice, not only for bringing African stars to our screens, but for getting Africans involved in the production elements of the shows. Masango finds the oral storytelling tradition fascinating, and she admires the unique ability of Africans to naturally convert history into entertaining stories.
Her current favourite African story is The River, which airs on 1Magic, DStv Channel 103, weekdays at 20:00 CAT.
“Working with the MultiChoice team was a career highlight for me. Storytelling is an integral part of who I am, and it has been a true privilege to be part of the creative community that’s working to develop and preserve the collective memories of Africans,” she says.
Mumbi Macharia is a performing spoken-word poet, writer, blogger, content creator and event curator from Nairobi, Kenya.
For her, watching relatable shows on our various channels made by Africans for Africans is a major win for entertainment on the continent – it allows youngsters to dream big and believe that they, too, could become stars one day.
Macharia also highlights the importance of making educational and inspirational content available to children who are constantly learning.
She feels it’s important for local viewers to watch and enjoy content curated especially for them and highlights that these productions are equal to – or even better than – those created internationally.
Her current favourite is Sol Family, which airs on Maisha Magic East, DStv Channel 163 and GOtv Channel 4, on Sundays at 07:30 pm CAT.
While filming the Thousand Stories promo, Macharia felt an intense sense of gratitude for being part of an artistic community with the ability to create and inspire greater African stories.
Chika Jones is a Nigerian performance poet, theatre critic, and previous winner of the national poetry slam 'War of Words'.
As a storyteller, Jones recognises the importance of platforms such as DStv and GOtv as they showcase uniquely important African stories. He also acknowledges MultiChoice as a vital component of job creation and skills development across Africa.
“Storytelling has had a huge impact on my life. It provided me with many opportunities and it plays a key role in Africa’s future,” says Jones.
He thoroughly enjoyed watching Big Brother Nigeria Season Five and is currently looking for a new favourite.
Through storytelling, MultiChoice continues to showcase uniquely African cultures and traditions which will, as a result, remain preserved for future generations. Follow the hashtag #tenthousandstories on Twitter.