Comedy in Kenya is becoming a serious career upon which those who can manage to crack our ribs can rely on to put a plate of food on the table.
Gone are the days when comedians were taken as mere jokers who had nothing else to do with their 'miserable lives'.
With this reality in mind, in recent years we have seen hundreds of comedians sprout up and now they are all over our TV and radio airwaves as well as our social media space as they try to grab our attention.
However, as many may have realized, comedy isn't a walk in the park and staying relevant even for a couple of months is a tall order. And this is the reason why almost on a daily basis you continue to hear many upcoming local comedians accuse each other of stealing jokes.
And on 'staying relevant', you, however, realize that there are some comedians who have stood the test of time and continue to entertain us after many years of being on 'the stage'. Allow me to use a renowned Kikuyu comedian popularly known as 'Mzee Kihenjo'.
Many will agree with me that Kihenjo (cracker) has lived to his name and for over 15 years now. Almost every Kikuyu can relate with him especially those who come from 'shags' like me.
Kihenjo who also hosts a show at Kameme FM, shot to fame through a string of his River-Road-produced comedy movies referred by many to as 'tu-movie twa Kihenjo'. Every Kikuyu lover of comedy at least has a DVD of these 'tu-movies'.
But how does Kihenjo continue to be 'evergreen' in a field where very many other so-called rib crackers have come and exited the stage without even leaving a scratch? Well, I have a few observations.
First, Kihenjo is original. Why say so? When Kihenjo came to the scene, the only brand of Kikuyu comedy that existed was the one introduced by the Damiano-Njaramba duo that was more of 'Hadithi za Abunuwasi' tales than comedy.
However, Kihenjo came to the stage with his own brand of comedy that had not been seen before and which proved popular among his audience. This brand has been replicated by several other Kikuyu comedians with some even trying to speak and 'wear' rags or sacks while acting like him.
Even on radio, many will agree, Kihenjo tries to be funny in his own way without necessarily riding on a particular joke of the moment making rounds in order to sound comical. Many comedians are victims of this.
Kihenjo has also mastered his art so well that he keeps reinventing himself day by day. You will rarely hear him repeat an old, dry jack that no longer tickles.
Finally, Kihenjo does his homework well and is updated. He is always able to find the trending topics among his Kikuyu audience in order to come up with jokes relevant to those topics. And who knows, this could be the reason he is able to change with his audience very fast as well as stay afloat for long where many have been rendered irrelevant after only a short while.