“I Really Admire The Police”
By: Judith Mutua
Posted on Wednesday, February 26, 2020
The Kenyan entertainment industry has for the past years grown tremendously. Gone are the days when parents discouraged their kids from pursuing a career in the arts. This has seen an emergence of big brands around great actors, comedians, musicians and cartoonists. Churchill, Jalang’o, MCA Trick, Eric Omondi, Willy Paul, DJ Moh, Njugush among others are some of the big names that have become synonymous with success through their respective arts. They are literally having their cake and eating it.
For Alex Mathenge, a Kenyan actor, digital content creator and comedian who studied Theatre Arts at Kenyatta University, comedy is a passion. Speaking to ChatSpot on Switch TV, Alex, who produces police comedy skits and shares them online, says that he was very honoured to get recognition from the global video sharing platform YouTube, and also to be awarded the Silver button by the same organization.
Acquiring 100,000 subscribers on YouTube is a major milestone for any content creator. It is a testament to the success of the work one has put out and also a measure of indication that it’s being received well by the target audience.
Police comedy...
Alex says his love for acting led him to create Makarao TV. Makarao is a street word meaning Police. It tells the story of police officers, brought out in a creative way. They use comedy to tell the different situations police find themselves in.
At a time when the police force’s reputation has taken a bashing after a string of scandals; from alleged fake military equipment scam to the general association of the police with bribery, Alex is convinced that now more than ever, the sort of insider insight he offers is needed. It’s something he delights in doing.
So why would he use the police to tell his stories? And is he not afraid of stepping on the toes of policemen? Alex says he came to professional comedy in 2014, when he performed his first stage radio animation as a police officer. For half a decade, he has been trading the fine line between poking fun at the job in the police force and undermining it.
Alex potrays a comedic meditation of the sometimes absurd, occasionally dangerous, and often misunderstood world of modern policing. “What rank do you have to get to in the police before people actually listen to you? Very high,” he said during the interview.
While earning his comedy stripes on YouTube, Facebook and Tiktok, his joke topics have encompassed more than just policing.
There is a very fine line between comic genius and unemployment…
Alex’s content creation is well thought out and it has grown to include others, who are needed in the production of the comics. This has helped in luring many other young people into the industry.
According to him, he doesn’t worry when it comes to the police officers. He says his audience has been “very supportive” and always give him a good reception. Police officers also form part of his fan base.
Alex does not want to be seen as either a critic or an apologist for the police. And the funny man in him is never far from the surface. “People have some very strange notions about the police. I think (comedy) is a very good form of community engagement which offers me a platform to talk about these things openly and laugh about them,” he adds.
Below is the full video with the interview.
