Using humour to spark change

Dr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, a distinguished Academician known largely for his artistic prowess and satirical commentary than his scholarly accomplishments, last Friday staged a brilliant performance at the National Theatre.
While most people know him for his clever cartoons, Spire’s show, titled “This country laughs a lot”, showcased his versatility as an artist and educator. Through a combination of sketches, stand-up comedy, and animated cartoons, Spire tackled a range of pressing social and political issues with humor and satire.

Beyond his work as a cartoonist, Dr. Ssentongo is also a respected lecturer at Makerere and Uganda Martyrs university, where he uses his expertise to teach and inspire the next generation of thinkers. His contribution to Uganda’s cultural and intellectual landscape is truly remarkable, and his recent performance at the National Theatre was yet another testament to his talent and dedication. As his former student, I had the privilege of being under his tutelage.  
Spire’s satire comes at a time when commentary has become boring and dull. He has been at its fulcrum capturing every huge trending story and condensing it to caricatures too small to fit on a newspaper page and social media news feeds but too large to provoke and expand conversations in leaps and bounds seemingly engaging everyone everywhere at once.

His works have become a sort of cartoon entertainment that has kept his audience always impatient on what the next caricature will depict. Is he going to draw the President’s caricature with his infamous mineral water bottle dripping and properly anchored on the brim of his cowboy hat? Is he going to draw one of the Ministers who were implicated in the iron sheets bonanza? His satire has been a fodder for Social media frenzy.  Somehow, his cartoons have touched on the places that TV, radio and Social media  political punditry, with its interminable babble and bubble, often struggle to reach.All perfectly wonderful, of course, entirely well-meaning, It is fine for what it is: provoking, incisive, hard hitting, speaking truth to power and yet at the same time bewitchingly entertaining.

After many years of our toxic, silly and sometimes stupid political debates, there has been a wider fatigue out there. Perhaps we had simply reached a peak where experts talking about politics had become nauseating. And maybe there was an opportunity here to demand that our political discourse be remade into something finer and better: funny without being inane, inclusive without being bland, knowledgeable without getting ridiculously competitive about it. Maybe even people not interested in politics are taking part!

Ofcourse, politics has always been a ripe and soft target for humour and satire. As far as I can remember reading newspapers, no political commentary was complete without a segment showcasing it’s lighter side,  presented by some zeitgeisty cartoonist like Mr Lizard or Mr Ras. But we are living in interesting times where our ping pong politics have degenerated into something disturbing that it requires cartoonists like Spire to  depict it better.
The rise of Spire is part of a broader disruption in political commentary: a growing and acceptable way of digesting current affairs without a furrowed brow and gritted teeth. That we can put across our message without shouting on top of our voices and writing bible size newspaper columns. In a rather strange way, he have made us believe that politics can be funny as well as fun. He should be celebrated.

While we may initially indulge in these cartoons for their entertainment value, we may be overlooking their underrated ability to disarm toxic political commentary with good humor and satire. Spire’s works reach places that traditional media often can’t, providing a refreshing perspective on political issues that is both provoking and entertaining.

In these interesting times, where political debates can be nauseating and exhausting, Spire’s rise as a disruptor in political commentary is a welcome relief. He proves that politics can be funny and fun, without sacrificing its seriousness or impact. We should celebrate Spire and his artistic prowess for encouraging social and political awareness among his audience through humor and satire.

The author, Mr Henry Otafiire is a Research Fellow, Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies.