Ofweneke: No regrets for quitting law for comedy!

What you need to know:

  • Sande Bush, or Dr Ofweneke to his fans, was not sure he was making the right career move when he quit law school for comedy.
  • It was a risky bet that, according to him, has paid off pretty well. He spoke to Josephine Mosongo

Sande Bush, or Dr Ofweneke to his fans, was not sure he was making the right career move when he quit law school for comedy. It was a risky bet that, according to him, has paid off pretty well. He spoke to Josephine Mosongo

I’m surprised you are not wearing a suit today; you seem to always be in one.

(He showed up in white trousers, printed shirt and a sweater)

I have one in the car as we speak; you never know when or where you will get a gig. The suits are a way to console myself, seeing that I didn’t finish law school.

 

You went to law school?

Yes I did. That was in 2012. I was there for about one and a half years.

 

Who drops out of law school to pursue comedy?

You just asked the same question my dad asked about four years ago, and I’ll tell you the same thing I told him: Me.

 

I bet he didn’t find that funny

He was so mad. I sent him a message saying I was dropping out and he never replied. I guess he hasn’t had airtime till today, or he’s having network issues. It was the biggest and toughest decision I’ve ever had to make in life. My dad told me: “There can only be one Eric Omondi and one Churchill; what are you doing?” But today he is my biggest fan. To him, I’m the funniest comedian in the world. My whole family has been very supportive.

 

Can you imagine if it had not worked out?

I don’t want to imagine carrying my stuff back to my dad and saying: “You were right”.  Honestly, I wasn’t really sure of that move.

 

You just woke up one day and decided you were done with law school?

I was in class looking at the lecturer and, for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why I was there.

 

Do you think you were not cut out for it?

It wasn’t that. Not to brag, but I’m smart. I’ve always been. But I kept asking myself: “What is this guy teaching?” So I stood up, asked if I could go to the washroom, and I never went back. However, I’m going back to school but not for Law.

 

What if your children want to ditch conventional jobs in favour of the arts in future, like you did?

They will have to do both.

Your show on Ebru TV, ‘Tonight Live’, is it modelled after US programmes like ‘The Tonight Show’ and ‘The Daily Show’?

I’ll be very honest, that is simply the idea. Tonight Live is basically like Letterman’s or Jimmy Fallon’s show. The main thing is having fun. By the way, we are moving to another station soon. I want to be the first person to host President Uhuru Kenyatta on a comedy show. I call myself the African Steve Harvey because he has been able to keep a mature and stable brand for 40 years and is still a relevant comedian in the US. What every brand needs is the capability to reinvent every time. I had not been on television for a while and I’d also left radio, but I was able to let people know that Ofweneke is still there.

 

Have you tried contacting him, the President?

I made the first contact at the Jubilee Party launch last year and he said: “Yo boy, I got you”. No, he didn’t (laughs.)  It’s all about pushing and believing in yourself. I want to host interesting characters like Miguna Miguna because I want people to understand their normal lives, like, do people flash the President’s phone?

 

You host with DJ Crème

Funny story; he was my first guest on the show and he really enjoyed himself. So he asked if he could be the resident deejay. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a budget for that and he didn’t mind doing it for free. And here we are now.

 

Is television one of your long-term plans?

I’ve been on television for a while, I started off at Vitimbi.

 

Really?

Yes, that was about four years ago. It was my first time on television, and then Vioja Mahakamani scooped me. I was there for about eight months then we parted ways. Peacefully. There were generational differences, it wasn’t my pace. But I have respect for the two shows. I then went to Kenya Kona and, after that, Churchill Show. I attribute part of my success to Churchill, who is the pioneer of mainstream comedy. That’s how people got to know me.

 

Why did you leave Churchill Show?

If I was still there, people like MC Tricky and Professor Hamo wouldn’t have had space, and they are doing great.

 

Are there issues that you deal with as a comedian?

Not really, we are not like musicians who have to chase after royalties. Most of my revenue comes from corporate gigs. I do my job, they write me a cheque and I’m done. If they refuse to pay me, I write a very romantic email to the finance department, but I’ve never had to that. Comedians don’t have major issues, the problem comes in if you don’t have a game plan. My game plan this year is to go international. I have an upcoming one-man show in March, then in April I begin my tour of Europe and US, then South Africa and Nigeria.

 

Your Instagram profile reads BET Host; what’s that about?

I will be the first Kenyan to host the awards.

 

You think so?

Lupita was at the Kenya National Theatre just the other day, Trevor Noah was performing in clubs and nobody really paid attention. Look at where they are now. I just need that small window that Lupita and Trevor got and that’s it. It’s going to happen, you’re going to look back at this interview one day.

 

What’s your real name?

Sande Bush.

 

Were you named after someone?

No, my parents were just being creative. I now see where comedy came from. But I never used to like my name.

 

Comedy for you comes with hosting many events.

It’s the same thing when you marry your wife; she definitely has to cook, and it comes with the package.

 

Oh, really?

I’m an African man. My wife has to know how to cook, my wife is an amazing cook. Being an emcee is part of the job description but not every comedian is an MC. Not everyone can run a programme. Robert Burale is a good MC but he’s not a comedian, he’s interesting though.

 

How many weddings did you emcee last year?

(Whistles) I haven’t counted but I had an average of three weddings in a month.

 

Can I assume you are doing well financially from your TV show, stand-up routines and being an emcee?

God has been amazing. I have a beautiful family that doesn’t lack for anything. But I’m not there yet.

 

Do you use the Nigerian accent in casual conversations?

It comes out unknowingly sometimes. When you talk like that for six years, it creeps up sometimes. I meet fans in the streets who want me to use the accent, especially in Kakamega.