The Bizont troupe performs at the La Bonita Theatre in Kampala, Uganda on September 7, 2024. (Photo by BADRU KATUMBA/AFP)
A sold-out audience in Kampala held their breath as four self-described “singing clowns” dressed in choir uniforms took to the stage to deliver their latest bold satire on Ugandan politics.
The Bisonto Comedy Troupe narrates the misadventures of a fictional village ruled by an elderly leader and suffering from a severe lack of basic services and high taxes.
The parallels with the real Uganda, where 80-year-old President Yoweri Museveni has ruled for nearly four decades, are not hard to see.
The troupe's name, which means “mentally unstable,” was chosen when it was formed in 2020 in the hope of receiving protection from the authorities.
But that doesn't make their satire any less sharp.
“Our message is to let people know that we are not actually stupid,” said troupe member Maliceli Mbambaali, 40.
The show “supports the issues raised by the majority of our citizens,” he told AFP.
Their clownish looks haven't always protected them.
In 2020, they released a video sarcastically calling on Ugandans to pray for their leaders, including Police Commissioner Museveni and the prisons chief, which quickly went viral.
All four – Mbambaali, Julius Sserwanja, 41, Tony Kyambade, 21, and Joshua Ssekavembe, 19 – were eventually jailed and charged with “promoting sectarianism”, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
At the time, the government was on edge ahead of the 2021 elections, with singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine galvanising youth opposition to Museveni's government.
With comedic hyperbole, Mr Serwanja described how “70 guns, a helicopter and 50 men armed with submachine guns” stormed into the radio station to arrest the quartet.
But their life in prison wasn't so exciting.
“I kept wondering if we would ever get out of prison and what would happen to us,” Mbambali said.
Little did they know that outside, #FreeBizonto was trending on social media.
“We gained energy, we gained supporters and our fan base grew,” Mbambali said.
Thanks to pressure, the charges were eventually dropped, but the case remains a dark warning.
“This is a signal that whatever we do, the government will be watching,” Mbambali said, vowing to take a more “coded” approach to future satire.
“We never gave up”
Bisonto's audience spans generations: A recent show included a 72-year-old widow, Milia Kawuma, and her granddaughter, Christine Nabata Kamwesi, 29.
“The performers portray what Ugandans are going through: corruption, bad roads, lack of medicines in hospitals,” Kauma said.
“We pay high taxes and officials are stealing it,” she added.
Uganda ranks low, 141st out of 180 countries on Transparency International's corruption index.
The scandals had enraged young people, who took to the streets earlier this year only to be met with a heavy-handed response from police.
At Bisonto's shows, the cheers, screams and roars make it clear that the comedians' messages are resonating.
While their time in prison may have shaken them up, the troupe remains undaunted.
“We never gave up. We never backed down,” Mbambali said. “We knew we were on the right path.”
© Agence France-Presse
