Chipukeezy: Comedy is no joke

By Sheila Kimani

Twenty three-year-old Vincent Mutua’s arsenal of jokes about his life, family his roots in Mlolongo and characters, like Soya —his father— and Kimondio —his stubborn brother— have thrust him to the front row of comedy.

While his fans have come to anticipate rib-cracking jokes whenever he takes to the stage, Chipukeezy is quick to point out that preparing for a show is no laughing matter.

“I have realised that comedy is no joke. You will hardly ever find me laughing even as I think up my jokes, because I know how much work it takes to stir up an audience.”

Despite his obvious talent, it took him gruelling months to establish himself in the industry and even get the chance to share the stage with big names such as Daniel Ndambuki aka Churchill. 

“When the first season of Churchill Live came to a close, I was sure I wanted to be part of the next season but I was not well equipped to join the comedy big shots,” he says.

He, therefore, opted to be part of smaller comedy platforms and shows such as the Hot Seat and here, he gradually learnt how to stir up crowds.

As a young lad growing up in Tala, Machakos County, he perhaps never envisioned a career in comedy. Not until he came to Nairobi, joined the theatre fraternity and then realised how big the comedy business was.

“When I first heard about Churchill and his career, I had no television, so I Googled him up to check out his videos and understand the whole comic concept. That was when I had my light bulb moment,” he recalls.

Weeks later, Chipukeezy confesses that he sought for and finally met Churchill who asked him to practice and perfect his art.

With a background at hosting live comedy shows, Fred Omondi proposed that they start the Crazy Comedy Show, which was one of the sprouting comedy shows. When the show ended its run, he was forced to go back to the drawing board and re-strategise his next move.

Fortunately, Churchill had seen his good work and took him aboard the Churchill Show as one of the main comedians. Having learnt the terrain of the comedy industry, Chipukeezy was well aware what kind of jokes would be his trademark. Out went the tribal jokes that, at times felt offensive, and in came personal jokes that many people would easily identify with.

“My family is quite dear to me and they were the inspiration behind my stage characters such  vvas Kimondio who most of my fans love, and often want to meet,” he says.

Right now comedy is his fulltime job because it was his jokes at the Churchill show that led him to score a job at the KISS 100 morning breakfast show as Caroline Mutoko’s co-host.

“I cracked a joke about Sonko’s daughter, telling her that I was broke but if I married her, we would simply spend her father’s wealth. That must have been my award winning moment because a week later, I was at the KISS 100 studios learning the radio basics,” he says.

Already, in less than two months of Caroline’s mentorship, and he ranks his encounter with the President Uhuru as the icing on the cake because as he confesses, he had so much fun with the president in studio. He is expected to perform in State House before the month ends. With an already glistening future ahead of him, he is set to go to London on a comedy tour in September because as it now is, his job is your entertainment.