‘Singing fools’ troupe uses satire to attack Uganda government

The troupe’s name means “mentally unstable”, which they chose when they formed in 2020 in the hope it would provide some protection from the authorities

A packed Kampala audience held its breath as four self-styled “singing fools” in choir uniforms bound onto the stage for their latest daring satire of Ugandan politics.

The Bizonto comedy troupe recounted the misadventures in a fictional village, ruled by an ageing leader and suffering from a dire lack of basic services and sky-high taxes.

The parallels with real-life Uganda — ruled for almost four decades by Yoweri Museveni, now 80, — are not hard to spot.

The troupe’s name means “mentally unstable”, which they chose when they formed in 2020 in the hope it would provide some protection from the authorities.

But it has not diluted the sharpness of their satire.

“Our message means people know we are actually not fools,” said troupe member Maliseeri Mbambaali, 40.

The show “supports issues raised by the majority of the population,” he said.

Their buffoonish front has not always protected them. In 2020, they released a video sarcastically calling on Ugandans to pray for their leaders, including Mr. Museveni, the police chief and the head of prisons, that quickly went viral. All four members — Mr. Mbambaali, Julius Sserwanja, 41, Tony Kyambadde, 21, and Joshua Ssekabembe, 19 — ended up in jail, charged with “promoting sectarianism” and facing up to five years’ imprisonment.

The government was on edge at the time ahead of 2021 election, with singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine galvanising youthful opposition to Mr. Museveni’s regime.

With a comedian’s exaggeration, Mr. Sserwanja described how “50 men armed with 70 guns, helicopters and sub-machine guns” swarmed to arrest the quartet at a radio station.

But their time in jail was not so funny. “I thought a lot about whether we were ever going to leave the cells — what was going to happen to us?” Mr. Mbambaali said.

They did not know that outside, #FreeBizonto was trending on social media.

“We gained energy and followers... our fan base grew,” Mr. Mbambaali said.

‘Dark warning’

The pressure helped ensure that the charges were eventually dropped, but the episode still carried a dark warning. “It gave a signal that whatever we do, the government will be monitoring us,” said Mr. Mbambaali, who vowed to take a more “coded” approach to future satires.

Bizonto’s audience stretched across the generations.

Young people, infuriated by a string of scandals, took to the streets earlier this year, only to be met with a heavy-handed police response. At the Bizonto show, cheers and shouts make it clear that the comedians’ message is striking home.

Their time in prison may have shaken them, but the troupe remains undeterred. “We never gave up. We never stepped back,” Mr. Mbambaali said. “We knew we were on the right path.”

Published - September 26, 2024 10:02 am IST