I’m proud to be a comedian - Dolibondo

Did you ever dream of doing comedy as a job?
I loved music and never knew that I would at one time become a comedian. My school reports always had comments that I was playful because I was always laughing in class. I had a passion for attracting attention, making a lot of money and entertainment. As I grew older, I realised my talent was more comical than musical and settled for comedy.

Which year did you begin doing comedy at a professional level?
In 2009, after I participated in the Pilsner Stage of Fame and surprisingly emerged winner. Since then, I have never looked back. The Pilsner Stage of Fame was a standup comedy competition that was organised by Pilsner beer back then.

What is the most difficult joke you have cracked as a comedian?
I have cracked very many because I’ve been on stage more than 100 times. Cracking hard jokes never comes on a serious note because sometimes, I start with no direction but I end up making people laugh.

How did the name Dolibondo come about?
It was just a slip of the tongue by a friend who was saying I was as funny as Dr Dolittle. He unfortunately failed to pronounce the name properly and ended up pronouncing it as Dolibondo.
That’s how it came about.

Do you ever think of quitting comedy to do other things?
It is one thing I cannot stop doing because when you see people go on the stage to perform, you develop the urge to also perform. Different people, including artistes, have declared publicly that they’ll never sing again and they end up bouncing back.

Are you proud of being a comedian?
Yeah, I’m very proud.
Why?
There are many privileges comedians enjoy and never pay for. I can go to a bank and people want to serve me before the people I find in long queues. I’m not a proud person but I honestly find making friends hard but through comedy, people associate with me and it makes life easy. It’s only that everything has a good and bad side.

Which is the bad side?
People expect a lot from us. Sometime back, I was renting a house in Ntinda at Shs200,000 and I was always being disturbed by thugs who wanted to break into my house because they thought I had a lot of money.

I had to look for another house so as to live a comfortable life. It’s also hard to drum up a good deal because someone will never take you serious. Even for things you can do yourself, you end up having someone else do them for you.

What else do you do apart from comedy?
I own a company called Big Yard that deals in printing and branding.

What have been some of your best moments on stage?
It was when we had just shifted to Theatre Labonita from Efendy’s. The audience then was very receptive. When I went to Rwanda to perform at City Urban Hotel, the audience was also lively.

And the worst?
When I had just introduced comedy in music, again at Labonita. I had invited Jose Chameleone but he didn’t get there on time. The comedians all performed but we were chased off stage until Chameleone turned up.

What is the hardest thing for a comedian to do on stage?
It depends on the audience. There are those who are okay when you ‘diss’ them but there are those who will never accept it because they take themselves to be better than the person performing in everything- including finances.

Which comedian do you think is funny in Uganda?
It’s Amooti because he’s natural. He’s one person who can crack a joke out of a sad moment. There was a show when he joked about the bombings at Kyadondo and it was hilarious. I don’t remember what it was.

How would you classify your comedy?
It cuts across in Luganda and English. Thirty per cent of my jokes are intellectual while 70 per cent are about real downtown and uptown daily life.

Do women take comedian men serious?
It depends on the approach. When you talk to a woman for the first time, she might think you are joking and that you are playing with her feelings.
Do you believe in your girlfriend being close to your male friends?
I would give her room to do whatever she wants because if a woman wants to cheat on you, she will do it anyway. You should learn, trust and believe that she will not do it.

Tell us a little about your background.
I was raised in Kawempe and went to Aunt Milly Primary School from Nursery to Primary Six, then St Andrews for Primary Seven. For secondary level, I attended St Andrews Kazo Hill College and completed advanced level at Kampala Citizens College. Thereafter, I studied computer repair and maintenance at Aptech School of Computing.

Marriage talk
Are you married?
No, I am not, but I’m seeing someone.
What attributes do you look out for in a woman?
I’m not so much into light-skinned women. I like the one with a chocolate colour, looks good and has class. She should also be a free spirited person who will be ready to talk to my friends.

When do you think is the right time for a man to get married?
One thing I believe in 100 per cent is cohabiting. If you are in love with a girl for a few months, she comes to your home for the weekend and this goes on for one and a half years, then marry her.

When you don’t stay with her, you’ll never get to learn her ways. If you have limited time with a woman you love, you’ll never know her weakness.
Do you believe in a woman providing for her man?
The disadvantage these days is that most women are still locked up in African traditional society ways and forget that things change.

If she can realise that I’m lacking something that I need and she gives it to me, even if it’s paying rent, that would be very okay with me. It doesn’t have to be a one way lane where the man is the one to provide for his woman.