17 Dec 2023

Social media funny man and aspiring stand-up comedian, Onkgopotse Mugende, popularly known as Mdala Ka Tjeludo or simply Ditori Tsedi Siras, is savouring the chance of breaking into the big stage.

Speaking after his sold out performance in Lesotho recently, Mugende said his act in Lesotho, his first ever performance outside the country was special as it meant his craft was being recognised beyond local shores.

It was an adventurous experience and is now looking into rubbing shoulders with international acts in the mould of Trevor Noah, Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock among other delightful jesters.

“Before my act in Lesotho, I didn’t have the gusto because of making a debut on the international stage and mainly because of the language barrier,” he added. Mugende said he knew he had a lot in his plate, but credits his good command of Sepedi, which is remotely close to Sesotho.

“I am a Kalanga by birth, I speak and think in Kalanga, now imagine making jokes in Kalanga, translating to Setswana and then finally English, it was going to be a mammoth task,” he said.

Mugende took to the stage and spoke Setswana heavily laced with Kalanga much to the delight of the sizeable crowd that had filled the room. He created a lasting impression, established a relationship and fed his audience with what it wanted to hear.

After the impressive reception in Lesotho, Mugende travelled to Zambia to represent his comedy stable Major Moves at the ZED Laugh Festival.

He recorded equal success in a closely contested two-days show hosted by Zambian funny man Hubert Mumba, better known by his stage name Chingliz.

The show attracted comedians from Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe and eSwatini.

Mugende said even though he was not making satisfactory waves locally in the comedy scene, he had found a new lease of life outside the country.

He believes his goal of breaking into the international stage was falling into place.

The Tutume born comedian joined Major Moves Comedy in 2017 after being recruited to try his luck in standup comedy by DJ Gee Spot.

He became the host of Major Moves comedy shows, especially the first Friday shows at the then Masa Square Hotel. After making an impact on stage, Mugende hosted the GIMC comedy segment and the Maun International Arts Festival.

COVID-19 attacked while he was at the peak of his career and everything screeched to a halt. By his own admission, he hit a wall and it was mentally and emotionally draining.

He however continued with his Facebook page videos and did a few adverts for BURS. He even introduced the famous tagline ‘Lisela Wena,’ which became an instant hit with his diehard fans.

Immediately after that Mugende decided to rebrand and underwent introspection.

Mid 2023, he hit the ground running with Major Moves once again and hosted the Heavyweight International Comedy festival, which was the launching pad for his international stardom dreams. ENDS