Gilbert Baraza (Mtumishi) and Josephat Mchasia (Mchungaji) were both street boys at one point of their lives. Photo/FILE
Gilbert Baraza (Mtumishi) and Josephat Mchasia (Mchungaji) were both street boys at one point of their lives. This is not the only thing they have in common – they are also ridiculously funny and seem to have caught the local comedy industry by surprise. They spoke to VINCENT ACHUKA about their sudden rise in the industry.
Who are Kreative Generations?
Mtumishi: Kreative Generations means passing creativity through generations. It is a community based organisation in Kawangware. We are just part of its 15 members. I am the chairman and Mchungaji is the vice-chairman. Apart from Kreative art, the group also makes ornaments from beads besides greenhouse farming. Our objective is to empower the youth economically and to promote behaviour change. We also organise events around Dagoretti and perform for the sick people in hospital receptions.
Tell us about your background
Mtumishi: I come from a single parent family since my parents are separated. I dropped out of school in Form Two and became a street boy. In 2006, I was introduced to crime by one of my friends from Kangemi. We carried out carjacking’s along Waiyaki Way. At one time we tried to carjack a vehicle in Kiambu and its occupants turned out to be flying squad officers.
We were arrested and released two days later. I escaped to Mombasa where I worked as a watchman and when I came back a friend of mine one day told me to accompany him to church where there was a performance and we decided to form Kreative Generations.
Mchungaji: My mother passed on when I was young and my father remarried and abandoned us forcing me to drop out of school in Class Two.
My step-mother took me up country where I worked in a chang'aa distillery. I ended up on the streets of Kakamega before coming to Nairobi where I started performing comedy on the streets, in crusades and weddings in efforts to survive.
Together with my friends we formed another group before I joined Kreative Generations.
So that is how you met?
Mtumishi: Our group was performing during the Women’s Day celebrations at the Dagoretti DC’s office some time last year and Mchungaji’s group was also in attendance. We were impressed with his performance and approached him and he agreed to join us.
How did you end up on Churchill?
Mchungaji: Last year our group participated in the Jipange competition with a short play. During our first competition we discovered that the two of us were the funniest characters in the play. We registered as stand-up comedians in the same competition and luckily went up to the nationals in Nakuru where we were number three. Back in Nairobi our friends convinced us to audition for Churchill.
Is the industry moving away from telling jokes?
Mchungaji: When we joined Churchill we did some Chinese translation for some time and people loved it; but when we experimented with comical music the reaction was phenomenal.
We decided to stick to it but if you ask me what our style is my answer would be we don’t even know what it is. It just happened, but if you listen keenly you will notice that most of our content is Christian in nature. In a sense we are spreading the Gospel through comedy.
We have seen a lot of new comedians come up very fast but they fizzle out just as fast. What do you think has made you survive?
Mtumishi: I think it is discipline, putting God first and support from other members of Kreative Generations. We also take comedy as a job and work very hard.
Mchungaji: What is hurting a lot of upcoming comedians is pride. You appear on TV once or twice and think you have made it already. Others don’t want to work on their creativity and instead copy their colleagues while trying to compete against them at the same time.
Speaking of competition, the word on the street is you dislodged Smart Joker’s position on Churchill main show and relegated him to the less lucrative Churchill Raw because you both use similar accents from Western Kenya. Has it caused any bad blood?
Mchungaji: (Laughing) Oh no… It is true people are saying that but we are very good friends. We knew each other even before coming to Churchill when he belonged to a certain group in Waithaka.
Mchungaji: (Laughing) Oh no… It is true people are saying that but we are very good friends. We knew each other even before coming to Churchill when he belonged to a certain group in Waithaka.
He does not sing, he narrates stories. I agree we all use accents from Western Kenya but our intention was not to dislodge him. In performing arts, being number one is easy but maintaining it is a problem so everyone has to work hard for airtime.
Almost every famous comedian has a ghetto background like you two. Do you think living in a ghetto in a way contributes to someone being funny?
Mtumishi: G.H.E.T.T.O means “getting higher education to teach others”. When you live in a slum like we do, the large number of people living in close proximity to each other teach you a lot of things. You don’t even need a TV set because there is a lot of drama around you. It is not that people from well off families cannot crack jokes but they don’t see a reason to turn it into a career.
Mchungaji: When you are poor, you don’t have a chance to go to good schools. You can’t even get a job easily because you don’t have connections either. As a result you think of other available options that can move you to the next level and work extra hard. Comedy is just one of them. Others like Dennis Oliech chose football.
Any challenges?
Mtumishi: It is hard to get recognised as an upcoming comedian. We used to walk all the way from Kawangware to Carnivore for auditions then stay the whole day without food. All this while you don’t even know if you will make it. Many people lose hope in the process. This does not affect just comedy but all industries. It needs a lot of patience and perseverance.
Who inspires you?
Mtumishi: Internationally it is Jim Carey and in Kenya it is Churchill, Eric Omondi and Nyambane – he even inspires our attire on stage.
Mchungaji: Internationally it is Mr Bean and locally Churchill and Eric Omondi.
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