One on one with comedy King :Professor Hamo

Herman Kago, better known as Hamo the Professor, is the latest sensation in the laugh industry, always leaving his audience in stitches whenever on stage. We had a chat with him.

Tell us about that time you got a call from State House for a gig.

I was skeptical at first because you know there are too many Kamiti (prison) phone calls and messages like ‘Tuma kwa hii number ile ingine iko na shida ya M-Pesa’ (Send money to this phone because the other line has a problem). Plus that was around the time the government had announced it did not have money. Anyway, I honoured the request for a meeting and when I met the President (Uhuru Kenyatta), I told him: ‘Please nilipe cash because unaweza nilipa na cheque ibounce’ (Please pay for my services in cash because I don’t want you to write me a cheque, only for it to bounce).

What was the President’s response?

It made him laugh, and for the first time, I was comfortable close to power. I think he keeps forgetting he is the President, because he is just so easy, and that taught me something. When I become President...

You must be making a tidy sum now that you associate with the likes of the President. How much do you demand on average for a gig? For the sake of keeping all my ex-girlfriends at peace, I will not divulge this information because when we were together, I was suffering.

Take us through the journey from your struggling days to where you are now.

For a long time, I had a strong desire to be the greatest performer, but I didn’t know in which area – poetry, music or comedy.

In 2010, I heard about auditions for the Churchill Show and went to try my luck, but I arrived too late.

So did you try to convince the organisers to give you a shot?

Yes, but I was too late. It took me four years to muster the courage to go for another audition.

And how did it go?

It was a series of auditions and I would have to travel to Nairobi from Nakuru (where I lived) every week.

It reached a point I got so broke I couldn’t travel to Nairobi for a month. Coincidentally, that is when the Churchill Show started travelling around the country scouting for talent.

The crew came to Nakuru and I got an opportunity to audition. They were surprised that I used to travel from Nakuru to Nairobi for auditions. I was given three minutes on stage and the rest is history. I guess three minutes can really save a life.

What are your highest moments as a comedian?

The ability to make children laugh makes me happy.

Why children?

They are the most honest people in the world.

There are two ways to know if you are great a comedian – if you can make a drunkard or a child laugh, you are great.

What does greatness mean to you?

To me, greatness in not when people get to know your gift, but when you get to know your gift.

What is your education background and is it a total shift from what you are doing now?

I dropped out of Kisumu Polytechnic, where I was studying electrical engineering.

Electrical engineering!

Frankly, I took that course to prove my family and self wrong. I knew I had something great in me, but for a long time, I had suppressed it. So for two years, I was in class and I did enjoy it, but at some point I got bored because I had done all the proving I could do to myself and others and there was nothing more to prove. It finally dawned on me that I didn’t love what I was doing.

I thank God I had the courage to stop and ask myself who am I? I now believe it’s important to find your area of gifting and just follow your heart.

Do you have a mentor?

My dad was my mentor. He was a soldier and despite all the hardships he encountered in the army, he never once complained.

He was truly in his area of gifting as a soldier. He made me want to find my area of gifting. His passing on was a big blow to our family. Right now, my role model is Miguna Miguna. He speaks his mind. Most of us do it on Twitter and Facebook from the comfort of our living rooms, but Miguna does it in public and faces all the consequences. That’s bravery to me.

Tell us a little bit about your family

I was born in Lanet, Nakuru County, on July 5, 1983. We are eight children in total and I call my mother a “psychiatrist”. That is because dealing with eight children and maintaining sanity is truly a gift.

There are rumours you got a Sh10 million deal to be the Star Times ambassador. Is that true?

“Rumours are spreading”....

Is that all you are going to give us?

Yes.

Your advice to youth out there?

Find your area of gifting and pursue it unapologetically, and success will surely find you.

Anything you’d like your fans to know about you?

I am 3 inches taller than what you see on TV... Well, depending on the size of your TV.

Herman Kago, better known as Hamo the Professor, is the latest sensation in the laugh industry, always leaving his audience in stitches whenever on stage. We had a chat with him.

Tell us about that time you got a call from State House for a gig.

I was skeptical at first because you know there are too many Kamiti (prison) phone calls and messages like ‘Tuma kwa hii number ile ingine iko na shida ya M-Pesa’ (Send money to this phone because the other line has a problem). Plus that was around the time the government had announced it did not have money. Anyway, I honoured the request for a meeting and when I met the President (Uhuru Kenyatta), I told him: ‘Please nilipe cash because unaweza nilipa na cheque ibounce’ (Please pay for my services in cash because I don’t want you to write me a cheque, only for it to bounce).

What was the President’s response?

It made him laugh, and for the first time, I was comfortable close to power. I think he keeps forgetting he is the President, because he is just so easy, and that taught me something. When I become President...

You must be making a tidy sum now that you associate with the likes of the President. How much do you demand on average for a gig? For the sake of keeping all my ex-girlfriends at peace, I will not divulge this information because when we were together, I was suffering.

Take us through the journey from your struggling days to where you are now.

For a long time, I had a strong desire to be the greatest performer, but I didn’t know in which area – poetry, music or comedy.

In 2010, I heard about auditions for the Churchill Show and went to try my luck, but I arrived too late.

So did you try to convince the organisers to give you a shot?

Yes, but I was too late. It took me four years to muster the courage to go for another audition.

And how did it go?

It was a series of auditions and I would have to travel to Nairobi from Nakuru (where I lived) every week.

It reached a point I got so broke I couldn’t travel to Nairobi for a month. Coincidentally, that is when the Churchill Show started travelling around the country scouting for talent.

The crew came to Nakuru and I got an opportunity to audition. They were surprised that I used to travel from Nakuru to Nairobi for auditions. I was given three minutes on stage and the rest is history. I guess three minutes can really save a life.

What are your highest moments as a comedian?

The ability to make children laugh makes me happy.

Why children?

They are the most honest people in the world.

There are two ways to know if you are great a comedian – if you can make a drunkard or a child laugh, you are great.

What does greatness mean to you?

To me, greatness in not when people get to know your gift, but when you get to know your gift.

What is your education background and is it a total shift from what you are doing now?

I dropped out of Kisumu Polytechnic, where I was studying electrical engineering.

Electrical engineering!

Frankly, I took that course to prove my family and self wrong. I knew I had something great in me, but for a long time, I had suppressed it. So for two years, I was in class and I did enjoy it, but at some point I got bored because I had done all the proving I could do to myself and others and there was nothing more to prove. It finally dawned on me that I didn’t love what I was doing.

I thank God I had the courage to stop and ask myself who am I? I now believe it’s important to find your area of gifting and just follow your heart.

Do you have a mentor?

My dad was my mentor. He was a soldier and despite all the hardships he encountered in the army, he never once complained.

He was truly in his area of gifting as a soldier. He made me want to find my area of gifting. His passing on was a big blow to our family. Right now, my role model is Miguna Miguna. He speaks his mind. Most of us do it on Twitter and Facebook from the comfort of our living rooms, but Miguna does it in public and faces all the consequences. That’s bravery to me.

Tell us a little bit about your family

I was born in Lanet, Nakuru County, on July 5, 1983. We are eight children in total and I call my mother a “psychiatrist”. That is because dealing with eight children and maintaining sanity is truly a gift.

There are rumours you got a Sh10 million deal to be the Star Times ambassador. Is that true?

“Rumours are spreading”....

Is that all you are going to give us?

Yes.

Your advice to youth out there?

Find your area of gifting and pursue it unapologetically, and success will surely find you.

Anything you’d like your fans to know about you?

I am 3 inches taller than what you see on TV... Well, depending on the size of your TV.