US television superstar Steve Harvey is in Rwanda on a private visit that will see him visit different parts of the country and meet several high profile people while in Rwanda.
The 67-year old comedian, television host, actor, writer, and producer behind famous shows The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Family Feud, Celebrity Family Feud and Family Feud Africa, among others , was seen at Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi on Tuesday, where he went to pay his respects to victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Steve Harvey and his entourage are expected to visit Volcanoes National Park in the Northern Province to trek Mountain Gorillas but neither Rwanda Development Board (RDB) nor Visit Rwanda are yet to confirm the visit which is said to be private.
In recent interviews, Harvey, who has been visiting Africa in recent years, to discover his roots, says the continent holds a special place in his heart, even promising to move for long periods to produce films and shows.
“When I get off the plane I’m keenly aware that I’m from here. You have a sense of belonging, the whole continent… from Ghana to Botswana to Kenya, all the way down to Cape Town, it’s home.” Harvey said, adding that each visit comes with its own emotions.
“I’ve been to the the slave castles, I just cried… We were dragged from here and put in a place where they didn’t want us but they needed us. And then we built America. The country is the economic power it is today because of the of free labour on the backs of black African slaves…” he said in a September interview.
Harvey began his career as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s, and later hosted Showtime at the Apollo and starred in the television sitcom The Steve Harvey Show on The WB. In 2000, he was featured in The Original Kings of Comedy after starring in the Kings of Comedy Tour. His last standup show was in 2012. Harvey is also the host of both Family Feud and Celebrity Family Feud, holding this role since 2010. He also hosted Little Big Shots, Little Big Shots Forever Young, and Steve Harvey’s Funderdome.
As an author, Harvey has written four books, including his 2009 bestseller Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. In 2017, he founded Steve Harvey Global, an entertainment company that houses his production company East 112 and various other ventures. Harvey launched an African version of Family Feud and also invested in the HDNet takeover along with Anthem Sports and Entertainment. He and his wife, Marjorie, are the founders of The Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on youth education.