Award for making SA laugh

CAPE TOWN -- Satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys has been awarded the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation's annual reconciliation award for enabling the nation to laugh at itself, and for his Aids awareness work in schools.

The award was given to talkshow host Tim Modise last year.

Institute spokesman Thapelo Mokushane said Uys had addressed more than 400000 pupils in schools countrywide as part of his Aids awareness drive, and the institute wanted to honour him for this.

Uys also had the knack of making South Africans laugh at themselves, thereby creating an opportunity for reconciliation, he said.

Uys received a certificate and a cash prize. -- Sapa