Eddie Butita is a comedian, scriptwriter, content creator and entrepreneur who made a name for himself in popular comic show, Churchill Show.
On Friday, the comic was a subject of discussions online after President William Ruto joked about how much Butita makes from comedy.
Speaking during the Kenya National Drama Festival State Concert at the State House, Ruto claimed the comedian earns more than him.
Butita attended the event alongside comedian Njugush and gave an heartwarming speech to encourage students who attended the event.
“Thank you because they have come through for us. Njugush and Butita are our great artistes who today are monetising their content. Those two young men they are making more money than my salary. Don’t see them that they are wearing T-shirts like that
“They are earning more than I am. Congratulations for trailblazing, for being the example to many of our young people and for knowing that the creative space is available for jobs to our young people,” he said.
But how does Butita make his money and what are the sources of his wealth? Here is what WoK has managed to gather about the same.
Butita kicked off his career at Churchill Show where he was a stand-up comedian shortly before he started working behind the scenes.
In a past interview, he revealed comedians who appeared on the show took home a minimum of KSh 80,000 monthly.
“At one time between 2015 and 2016, it was the highest-paying show in Kenya. If you performed in all shows in a month, you made more money than anyone on any TV series,” he said.
He has also worked on among other projects Churchill Raw, Night of a Thousand Laughs, Nescafe Red Sensation Party, The Hot Seat, Kenya Kona Comedy, Crazy Monday Comedy Night, 3D Comedy and Kids Festival.
He also worked as a scriptwriter and worked in numerous local projects before landing a deal with Netflix.
Butita was part of the team member that developed and directed the Swahili adaptation of The Upshaws for Netflix.
In an interview with Citizen Digital, Butita disclosed that he made over Ksh 13 million after landing the gig.
He warned that he was not permitted to discuss the terms of his payment due to the conditions of his contract.
Butita even joked that with the money that he was paid, he would not have to work until 2029.
At the same time, the comedian owns Stage Presence Media which hosts SPM Buzz and SPM Africa studios.
SPM Africa Studios is a full house audio visual production and distribution company while SPM Buzz is an online media company.
“With an excellent team of creatives, we are here to change the entertainment scene by creating more valuable opportunities for creatives who want to live and earn from their ideas,” Butita said about his company.
Butita also runs a YouTube channel, Eddie Butita, which he created in August 2013. With 85 videos, he has managed to garner a total of 17.9 million views and over 240,000 subscribers.
On his platform, the comic shares his projects and skits. Among the popular show on the platform is A Nurse Toto which premiered on February 9, 2023.
The characters on the show include a receptionist who has a nauseating attitude and two nurses who are clueless and show reluctance to helping patients seeking help.
It also includes a janitor who is always selling alternative traditional medicine to patients at the waiting bay.
Butita explained that the reason why he did not restrict viewership is for everyone to enjoy the show and drive traffic to his YouTube channel.
