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have dual citizenship. My Ugandan passport is proper Africa while the SA passport is like...well...Africa Light. Unfortunately Uganda is my insurance passport just in case the Malema trial doesn’t go too well..... I can’t go to Australia if things don’t work out here. I am from Uganda so this is actually my Australia!” That was one of the jokes that made me really crack up when I went to see David Kibuuka’s stand up show. A few weeks later, we met at his office in Braamfontein for this interview. How would you describe the experience of having your first stand up performance – “Dave wasn’t built in a day”? It was fantastic! Normally when you do shows, there are a number of acts on the line up and you don’t really get the chance to be yourself. I don’t think a ten minute performance is a true reflection of the comedian. It was good to have the whole hour to myself and it was less difficult than I had anticipated. It evolved from the first night as the show was interactive and I was able to tweak it somewhat depending on the audiences’ responses. On the final night my family attended it and I therefore had a few more anecdotes from my childhood in the set.
Speaking of your family, how Ugandan are you?
Tell us more about these TV Shows.
Not very. I visit the country once or twice a year and realise how Ugandan I am not. For example, I can follow what people are saying but do not speak the language. Also the references that people have are completely different to mine. I visit because I have many family members there although a good number of Kibuuka’s now live here. I don’t think I will ever return to live there although I may consider investing at some point. I am like a Greek person in SA; they say they are Greek but they really aren’t because they don’t live in Greece.
Well in LNN I am the international correspondent so my role is very specific. Any exposure is good for someone in this business but this is even better because it revolves around humour which is what I do. We follow the news keenly and write the show by Friday. We have the weekend to think of any changes and shoot on Monday. Like a naughty student, I always do my homework on Sunday night. As the Jozi Show revolves around Jozi shooting their album with collaborations with artists in the rest of Africa, we anticipate a lot of travel. We can also sell it to other networks as it is not licensed like LNN.
Was having your own one hour special the highlight of your career? I have multiple careers. It was definitely the highlight of my stand up career. However, what stands out is my roles in movies, in particular starring in Bunny Chow which came out in 2006. We went out to France and took part in the Cannes Film Festival and to Toronto, Canada. We have just wrapped up shooting a movie called Blitz Patrol which is set to be released in June 2012. When it comes to my TV career, I have a slot on Late Night News (LNN) which shows on ETV as well as the Jozi Show which is a reality show around the musical duo Da Les and Ishmael collectively known as Jozi who I also manage.
What are the challenges you experience as a comedian? Well at the moment it is like a gold rush. Everyone is trying to get into it as there is some money to be made. I think the challenge is to develop a specific brand. The mistake people make is looking over their shoulders at other comedians worrying about whether they are better or how much they are making. It is much like life; you need to chart your own path and own style which demands originality. Something that is not always easy to do. Another challenge as a comedian is getting a venue. Good venues today are booked up to 2013. Finally, it is always bad when you are on stage and ‘you die’. That’s when the
“I have a BCom degree but don’t think I will ever use it. Can you imagine if I went for an interview today – so what have you been up to all these years? – telling jokes! No one would hire me.” 48
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