Funnyman and host of NTV’s The Wicked Edition talks of his rise

I was called a comedian in class three and this made me very angry.

They called me ‘Makhokha’, the Vioja Mahakamani comedian with a rugged look. My classmates nominated me whenever a speaker or comedian was needed from the crowd. I was never confident about the jokes I told at that time. So I would tell the joke to the person seated next to me, who would share it with the class. 

I ventured into professional comedy in 2010, which is when I realised I could get paid for it. I used to tell my friends that I would have my own TV show, but most of them didn’t take me seriously. A few believed in me and supported me. Back then in Embu, I was playing set-book characters. 

Then I travelled to Nairobi, straight to Nation Centre, to pitch my idea. I was told to first record a pilot, which is a stand-alone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network. I wondered where the money to do that would come from, as getting money for fare to Nairobi and back home was hard. I had to come up with other ideas. My next step was to get a sponsor. I decided to approach Yu Mobile, and sent an email to the company’s manager trying to sell my ideas. She has never replied. 

My neighbour’s friends offered me some money to write jokes for them for a GBS competition they were to take part in. I agreed. I wrote the script and they came back asking if I would like to take part in the competition, since the minimum number of participants had gone up. I said Yes. That was the first time I was on a television show, in May 2010. JB Masanduku and I won the competition.

I did stand-ups and club shows from then until Kenya Kona approached me. I worked at Kenya Kona for a year. 

Kazungu Matano, also known as Captain Otoyo, liked the way I packaged my comedy. He asked me to write for Offside Show on NTV. That was in 2013. We did 69 episodes, where I also built a voice character called Kinyanjui. Additionally, I did Churchill Show. 

Larry Madowo also saw something in me. He asked: “Why are you fixed on writing? Do you know how many forms of comedy there are?” He decided to show me. He downloaded all comedy shows he knew of during the week. We would then go to his place after The Trend on Fridays to watch them. Larry did his part in showing me all these other forms of comedy. I then put out my ideas to Kevin Gitau, The Trend’s producer. 

The Wicked Edition was a theory for almost a year before I called my friends, the initial members of the team: Paul Ogolla and Nicholas Okwach. We planned and decided to air it first on The Trend, on a day that was my birthday, coincidentally. People loved it and The Wicked Edition was born. 

Some people think we copied Trevor Noah’s Daily Show idea, but that means these people watch only that show. If you watch America’s late night shows, we’d be told we copied all American shows. That said, I love being compared with such shows, because that means we are good. 

The Wicked Edition’s secret is simply telling the truth, but in a satirical way. Our first guest was Police Spokesman Charles Owino. We still think he was our breakthrough. What our guests like is that we do our research well. Getting a guest for the show is not easy. We don’t bring just anyone. The show is systematic, meaning they must be relevant and tied to the discussion of the day. 

I have to cover up for any time I haven’t worked in a day. If I spend four hours, say, hanging out with my daughter or friends, I will work four hours in the night. That’s how my mind is set. 

The job is not as easy. It’s not an 8-5 job, but the pressure is more. I can get to work at 5am and leave at 11pm, the same way I can get in at 10pm and leave at 10am the next day. The good thing with creativity is that I can leave work whenever my brain can’t work further. 

If I was to do the show alone, I would need 28 hours in a day (laughs). But I credit it all to my team members. They help a great deal. 

I have only four favourite hang-out joints, which happen to be my house and three of my friends’ houses. I don’t drink or smoke, neither does my closest circle. The best we can do with our free time is entertain ourselves with stories.

Larry Madowo is my favourite celebrity, though he does not consider himself popular. 

My dad is my only fan back home, probably because everyone else is just as funny (laughs). He actually calls me by my stage name, Dr King’ori. I called my mum when I first appeared on a newspaper back in 2014, expecting her to be proud or excited. All she asked was, “You couldn’t find a better belt?”

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FYI

• My favourite combination of food is ugali and maziwa mala. 

• My favourite drink is milk. I take milk only on days ending with ‘y’ (laughs) 

• The last time I cried was in 2012 when a girl who I thought was humble took advantage of me. I was very hurt, since we were very close. 

• I rarely smile, which is funny because I’m a comedian.