Comedian Kelekele attempts a one-man show

Aug 17, 2015

He has been around, acting and imitating Ugandan policemen from the time we first watched him acting with the sketch comedy outfit, Amarula Family.


By Steven Odeke

Afande Kelekele (born George Mulindwa) is a man of many talents, so to say.

He wears a stern stance on a rugby pitch when you find him refereeing matches (he is a professional and played some rugby, by the way) and then he will wear a mask of comedy when you find him on stage, fully clad in a policeman's replica uniform.

 
He has been around, acting and imitating Ugandan policemen from the time we first watched him acting with the sketch comedy outfit, Amarula Family, at the turn of the millennium up to now, way before most of the today's standup comedians.

So, it was tempting to go watch his Mirinda-sponsored one-man show dubbed "One Afande, One Mission" last Friday, to find how far he has come in the comedy industry.

Does he still deliver the same old social commentaries laced with funny Lingala dance strokes? Does he still twist his accent to sound like northern Ugandans? What is it about him this time? Is his hair still dyed gold?

Fully dressed in his signature cop uniform, Kelekele was on stage doing his thing, largely avoiding smocking policemen and dwelling on a wide range of other society topics. You are not going to find Kelekele's delivery flowing like water from topic to topic but he still manages to crack ribs.

What he did on Friday, was to comment on just about everything in slums, upcountry dating and picking at musicians  mixing it with acts. It was funny when he poked fun at the late pop star Micheal Jackson for his break dances, local singers Mowzey Radio/Weasel for their pencil-thin figures, Jose Chameleone for his clashes with Bebe Cool and Chagga and so much more.

His material on the night was not the kind that would leave you reflecting but they were really funny. He kept shifting gears throughout his one-hour session whenever he realised his audience was not clicking a joke, and then sent them to another direction with a mockery or two at the DJ or reveller.

Nonetheless, it is good that local standup comedians like Kelekele are embracing one-man shows.

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