Lawyer After graduating from Law School, Thenjiwe worked as an immigration lawyer from 2010 to 2015.
Comedian 2013 - 2020 It was after she and her colleagues had a good day in court and was noticed by a talent scout. She later resigned from her job in November 2015 to concentrate on her comedy career. She got gigs in a few clubs. Her first performance was at Wokingham Theatre. This opened doors for more opportunities to perform in South Africa. But the five-minute slots she was being offered could not financially justify frequently flying from the United Kingdom. Between 2015 and 2016, she appeared as a guest comedian in the Season 1 of
Bantu Hour on
SABC 2. In March 2018, she performed at the Magners International Comedy Festival in
Thailand,
Vietnam and The
Philippines. In August, she headlined a show in
Eswatini dubbed
Laugh Goes On and in December, she performed at the 4th Annual Durban Comedy Festival in South Africa. In May 2019, Thenjiwe, Mark Banks, Alfred Adriaan and Eugene Khozawas were part of the
South African All Star Tour in
Sydney and
Perth, Australia. Later in the same month she headlined at the
Combo Comedy Show Fest at the Carnival City. In June, she performed at the
Eswatini Must Laugh comedy show in Eswatini. In August, she performed at the Kings and Queens of Comedy: Women's Day Edition.
2021 - present In April 2023, Thenjiwe won the
King Gong Comedy at
The Comedy Store (London) and in May, she won
The Black Out at
Up the Creek (comedy club). In August 2023, she debuted at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe with her comedy special
The Mandela Effect. In March 2024, she was listed by YouTube as one of the mentors for the #WomenofYouTube 2024 programme, which aims to support women creators across North America and sub-Saharan Africa. The initiative was covered by several media outlets, including
Social Media Today and
Thred , highlighting YouTube’s efforts to promote female representation on its platform. Thenjiwe represented South Africa at the World Comedy Clash, held at
Hackney Empire in London in May 2025, where she joined an international line‑up of comedians from 11 countries. Thenjiwe returned to her hometown of Durban in July 2025 for a one-night show titled
Thenjiwe Unplugged at the Playhouse Theatre, marking a “homecoming” performance and reaffirming her connection with South African audiences. She subsequently took the
Thenjiwe Unplugged tour to
Eswatini, where she performed at the Eswatini Theatre Club in
Mbabane in October 2025, an event described as a “heartfelt reunion” that promised to “leave audiences in stitches”. The show featured collaborations with regional stand-up artists such as Sandile M, Thando and Mdura, and was praised for blending humour with
social commentary, drawing on Thenjiwe’s experience of living abroad, her South African upbringing, and themes of family dynamics, language barriers and culture. Returning after her internationally acclaimed
Mandela Effect tour and a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe run, she delivered sharp, relatable storytelling while reflecting on shared experiences, including the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The international leg of her tour continued in London on 1 November and Dublin on 2 November 2025, before concluding at the Zed Laugh Festival in Lusaka, Zambia, on 28 November. The festival, organised by Night of Laughter, was scheduled to take place at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre and featured a lineup of prominent African comedians.
Comedy Specials • 2015 -
Laughter is the Best Medicine • 2016 -
Born again African • 2017 -
Hurricane Thenjiwe • 2019 -
Thenjiwe Live in London • 2023 -
The Mandela Effect and
The Accidental Spy in December. In 2018, she acted as Thenjiwe “Mthandazi” Mvelase, an out-of-work prophetess in
Imbewu.
Hostess Thenjiwe has been an
Mc at the African Union in Belgium and the Department of Trade and Industry in Pretoria. In 2016, she was a commentator in the countdown show
10 over 10 on
Vuzu. == Personal life ==