On July 22, 2022, Comedian Kibuuka Allan aka Optional Allan held his very first maiden comedy show dubbed “That Mulago Boy”. For anyone who attended that night will tell you it was a successful and fun night above all.
Optional Allan came to the scene in 2014 when he kicked off his comedy career and holding his very first successful maiden comedy show was a dream that came to pass for a boy raised in the suburbs of Mulago, Kampala.
The night went on as planned with the fact that the attendees filled up the National Theater auditorium and that said a lot about lovers of comedy simply wanting to have a good time and support the comedian.
The comedy night was hosted by comedians Maggie de Comedian Bwaiserian and Arnold, and had a lineup of several other comedians like Patrick Salvado , Dolibondo , The Talkers, Bobi Brown and Nilo Nilo, Dr T-Amale, Odongo, Livingstone among other entertainers of the night.
While the main act of the event was performed twice, and was introduced to the stage by musician Dax Vibez with loud cheers from the audience, just like the famous ghetto boy, dressed up in shorts with a t-shirt donning on a sharp gray jacket and the Nike rapid hazard shoe after which he changed to men’s longline checked shirt with blue jeans and Air Jordan Series 8 shoe. He was smart enough to appeal to his supporters.
The stage design reflected that Mulago suburb where walls have charcoal and chalk writings like “Tofukka wano Fine 20,000 shs” to mean don’t urinate here, “Toyiwa Wano Kasasiro Fine 100,000 shs” to mean don’t dump rubbish here and also bearing names of villages in Mulago like Kisenyi among so many writings that brought out the theme of “That Mulago Boy”.
Also his content rotated around the ghetto life like his famous joke about the ghetto gladiator Bobi Wine, how his spoken english changed immediately he became a member of parliament that his mates back in the ghettos of Kamokya could no longer understand him among so many other fine hilarious jokes that he didn’t disappoint as he excited the crowd performing with dances.
When they say Family is everything, his friends and family back home in Mulago were also among the crowd cheering for their home boy. This is when the comedian’s mother took the stage to thank the audience for supporting his son. It is the pride of every parent to see his or her child succeed.
After the show the comedian thanked his fans in a Facebook post expressing his gratitude for the unconditional support from his fans and the well-wishers. “I would be lying to you if I said THANK YOU, but allow me say thanks thanks and thanks guys for the support, we beat it, we made it history, we laughed and most importantly we had fun, I can’t thank you enough my people, by now you know Mulago is not only the hospital but there people in the surrounding area,” he posted.
Dr Hilary Okello of “Laugh at My People” comedy also took to social media to applaud his fellow stand-up comedian with a post “The future of Ugandan Stand-Up Comedy is bright 100%,” he admitted. Indeed the future of comedy in Uganda is bright as it is evident of weekly comedy shows held around Kampala and across the country.
Regardless it was not a bad start for a comic ghetto Mulago boy like him!
