COMICAL DRAG QUEENS: FLAQO, SHANIQWA, TERENCE CREATIVE, ERIC OMONDI & OGA OBINNA CHANGING THE FACE OF COMEDY

By Cheptoek Boyo | September 25, 2020

Drag queens are becoming more and more prominent in our society. A couple of male Kenyan comedians have perfected the art of performing as drag queens so much that at times you’d be convinced the drag queen character exists. Here are some comical Kenyan draq queens.

Mama Otis

Flaqo is always cracking our ribs with his short skits about Mama Otis. Flaqo’s Mama Otis is your typical African mom who always has a sharp tongue and always wins, even when she is clearly on the wrong.

Erastus Ayieko Otieno aka Flaqo, in a previous media interview, talked about the Mama Otis character, saying, “I picked a few characteristics from my mum and two aunts.

I don’t know at what point women become Mama Otis, because it seems like all mums are “extra” like that; they will stare at you weirdly or just make you do anything just so you don’t look like you’re idling in the house. It’s my favourite character because that’s what started this whole journey.”

Karishizo Mashizo, formerly Shaniqwa

Kevin Mwangi is one of the pioneers of comical drag queens. His character was so convincing, some assumed Shaniqwa was real while others were convinced, he’s gay. Kevin, who started out on TV with a show called Jameni, is a dad and he talked about how Shaniqwa came to life on Daily Nation saying, “The first auditions I did were reading for the part of Uhuru Kenyatta, but I wasn’t very good at it.

The Jameni producer was shooting the parody for Tujuane, called Tuachane; he asked me to go on set and just familiarise myself with the show.

The woman supposed to act never showed up, so he looked at me and told me to try it. I refused because I wanted to be a cool actor like Ian Mugoya, someone the women swoon over (laughs).

He finally said: “Do you want to get a contract or not?” and the threat worked. Someone went to the supermarket, bought clothes, I got on the set without a script and here we are today.” Kevin has changed the character from Shaniqwa to Karishizo Mashizo but it’s still the same hilarious comical drag we’ve come to love.

Kamami

You’ve probably laughed out loud at Kamami videos more than you’d like to admit and it’s fine. Kamami is another comical drag created by comedian Lawrence Macharia aka Terence Creative.

The star who was once a street kid, got a shot when he started co-hosting Crazy Comedy with Fred Omondi on KTN. But when he posted the Kamami video on Instagram, he broke the Internet, with his fans asking for more.

Where did the inspiration for Kamami come from? He says, “Let me say it is God who directed me to post that video. The feedback was so positive, my first video got to 60k views. Previously, I was getting like 3,000. My aim was to at least get 1,000 views.”

He adds, “Kamami is an ordinary Kenyan lady. I speak on behalf of both the men and women. When you watch that video as a man, you think of your sister or your mum. When you watch it as a woman, you think of yourself with other women out there. That is why many women like it.” 

Divalicious

Before Eric Omondi introduced Divalicious, most of us were laughing at his jokes on Churchill show and on his other comedy gigs. Divalicious is Omondi’s comical drag queen who is not only drawing in raving fans but also getting brand endorsements.

However, when he dressed up as a woman for the first time, the Internet was divided. It caused a stir online with some questioning his sexuality.

Eric in a previous media interview says that he doesn’t rely on his talent alone but hard work as well, stating, “To be honest, I’ve never really pictured myself as an overly-talented person. Where I excel is in a ridiculous, sickening work ethic. While the other guy is sleeping, I’m working. While the other guy is eating, I’m working.” He has been in the industry for close to 10 years now and he’s still growing strong. 

Barbie Doll Abinna

Oga Obinna also has a comical drag queen. Even though his main selling point in comedy is not the draq queen, he dressed up as the blonde Abinna every now and then to light up his page and entertain his many fans.

Oga, who has both Nigerian and Kenyan heritage, has always leaned more to his Nigerian side even with his blonde Barbie Doll Abinna. In a previous interview, he stated that, “I love the Nigerian attitude and loudness.”