Comedian Ronnie MacVex does his thing.
PHOTO BY Faiswal Kasirye
Ugandan comedians have learnt that the best punchline should be a tribal or vulgar joke. At the Mirinda Comedy Tour in the north last weekend, several comedians cracked jokes dissing the Luo especially the Langi. The tour, which kicked off on Friday evening at Lira Hotel attracted a mammoth crowd. Unlike other upcountry shows which are always meant to start at around 8pm but revellers turn up at 11pm or midnight, in Lira it was different. By 8.30pm, it was full house.
The show started on a boring note, with Lira’s own taking to the stage to dance, sing, mime, and crack jokes, but the crowd started booing them. All changed at around 10pm when Ronnie Mcvex, a comedian from fan factory took to the stage as the host of the show. Being a Mukiga, he praised the Langi for the hospitality.
“You cannot find such people in Kabale, they are so local”. He said as he welcomed Napoleone, who was welcomed with an applause because he was one of the comedians they know, Napoleone cracked jokes on how he was bullied in his S.1 in Lira because that was where he studied, “ I was told on my first day at school to whistle out my name and underline it, it was so hard but I was under the orders of the big boys in school,” Napoleon said, sending the crowd into laughter.
The main act of the evening, Patrick Salvado Idringi who likes to call himself Man from Ombokolo came to the stage, for people who frequent comedy shows, most of Salvado’s jokes were recycled. The fresh joke was the one about the Langi being broke but they always want to show off. “a Langi man will always go to a bar and want to get the most beautiful girl in the club. When the girl orders for an energy drink they always try out every skill of letting her not take it because it is expensive. They will tell them they look energetic and that they should take water instead,” Salvador said.
There was also a musical performance from Nutty Neithan of the Bakuwe Kyonywa fame. Sad that the Langi only stared as he performed, with some calling him Nutty Nation.