Kufewa Acrobatics gets spot at Bushfire Festival

Kufewa Acrobatics, makers of kung-fu movie Town Monger, are set to perform at this year’s MTN Bushfire Festival scheduled for today, May 24 to Sunday in e-Swatini, formerly Swaziland.

The group joins slum poet and musician Menes le Plume of Tumaini Festival who, apart from performing, will also give a talk on howhe has managed to run the Tumaini which is in its fifth year.

In an interview yesterday, MTN Bushfire Festival coordinator Tamanda Mbendera said the acrobats have been included as a last minute plus.

“The group was in South Africa holding performances and they popped up at our festival. I was excited after seeing them. Actually, they were just trying their luck to see if they can be added.

“So, since we have a very big festival ground, they will be performing throughout the festival,” she said.

Based in Area 36 in Lilongwe, Kufewa Acrobatics was formed in 1999 by brothers Imaan and Abdul Rashid Shaibu and Jumani Kantunda, with the aim of staging mind-blowing acrobatics and martial arts stunts in the city.

The group has been in South Africa since April this year at the invitation of Malawian Ishmael Akimu and to meet Black Twelve Studios officials who are interested in shooting a film with them.

Abdul said while waiting for that meeting, the group agreed to cross the borders to e-Swatini to promote their film.

“We had made duplicates of our film so that we can sell here. We arrived on the 21st and we started holding mini shows in town as a means of selling the Town Monger. It was while on those escapades that fans kept telling us to go and perform at Bushfire Festival.

“This is an event that we didn’t know of. We felt encouraged such that we had to go and try our luck. We were thinking that since the event is this weekend it was too late to get considered, therefore it was more of selling ourselves to the organisers so that they might consider us for next year. We were surprised to find that the festival coordinator is a fellow Malawian,” he said.

Abdul added that following their discussion with Mbendera, they signed a contract and will perform throughout the festival.