Former Kenya 7s rugby player turned food vlogger Dennis Ombachi was left speechless during the TikTok Top Creators Awards.
The Roaming Chef as he is popularly known was crowned the best TikTok content creator in Sub-Saharan Africa at the event held at the Mövenpick Hotel and Residences in Nairobi.
In his acceptance speech which he grappled with gathering, Ombachi recognised the award as a special compared to other awards he has won.
“Coming from sports I have won a couple of medals but there's is a different feeling that this one has,” Ombachi said.
The runner-up for the overall award across Sub-Saharan Africa was Charity Ekezie from Nigeria. The winners were determined in a competitive eight-day public voting process.
READ: Olympian Dennis Ombachi opens up on battling depression
Boniswa Sidwaba, TikTok’s head of content programming in Sub-Saharan Africa, stated that the award ceremony is TikTok’s way of recognizing storytellers, creativity, and the positive impact all creators bring to the TikTok community.
“We are thrilled to be celebrating our creators who have been a driving force behind some of the exciting trends for 2022. With these inaugural awards, TikTok aims to give creators in Sub-Saharan Africa the recognition they deserve and to encourage them to tell the African story while spreading joy at all times,” Boniswa said.
Other creators feted in the event include Beauty By Niita and Natasha Gwal who was awarded the best content creator in Kenya.
Below is the full list of winners of the TikTok Top Creators awards:
West Africa
TikTok Top Creator 2022 Winner - @e4ma - Nigeria
TikTok Top Creator 2022 Runner Up - @berby_picxy - Nigeria
Southern Africa
TikTok Top Creator 2022 Winner - @Pilot_onthegram - South Africa
TikTok Top Creator 2022 Runner Up – @.lindokuhle_khoza - South Africa
East Africa
TikTok Top Creator 2022 Winner – @natasha_gwal - Kenya
TikTok Top Creator 2022 Runner Up – @beautyby.nita - Kenya
Sub-Saharan Africa
TikTok Top Creator 2022 Winner – @theroamingchef - Kenya
TikTok Top Creator 2022 Runner Up – @charityekezie - Nigeria