Tom Daktari, real name Andrew Wambua Mboya, is one of the most talked about funnyman in Kenya. Like most comedians, his act boomed during the pandemic. Comedians got the chance to come up with innovative skits to stay afloat.
This was the case with Tom Daktari who teamed up with fellow comedian Sam Kioko to produce unique comedy that grabbed the attention of thousands of Kenyans.
Here is his career journey as told by WoK.
Background and Education
He was born in a humble family of nine children, five boys and four girls.
The comedian attended Kombu Primary School followed by St. Martin Kithunguini High School. He became the first in his family to go to boarding school and even raising the money was difficult.
In a 2021 interview with Churchill, he said that upon arrival in school, other students had shopping while he only had essentials. Then, while others received hefty pocket money his mother left him with Ksh50 only.
Moving to the city
He successfully completed high school and joined his elder brother in Nairobi who helped him open a business for selling eggs.
It was not a successful venture as he did not know how to prepare the eggs. Others would refuse to eat since he hadn’t prepared the salad well and he gave up.
The funnyman recalled hawking ‘mayai pasau’ packed in a transparent bucket. He managed to sell ten eggs out of thirty. He went back home with the eggs and ate ten that night and the remainder in the morning.
His skin reacted with the eggs and he got pimples all over his face in what was an allergic reaction.
Next, he tried to sell oranges but was unsuccessful. His brother took him to audition for set books. The auditions were at Kayole Social Hall and he got the role to present oral literature. This was how his career in traveling theatre began.
The brother once again obtained finances and he enrolled for film studies at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication.
Comedy
Thereafter, he went for Churchill show auditions. In his first attempt, no one laughed at his jokes and he left the place disappointed. Then, he tried a few more times unsuccessfully.
Later, he joined the Ultimate Top Comic Competitions and was able to proceed until the semi-finals. They would often meet at Sam Kioko’s house to practice their lines and he continued going there even after being eliminated from the competitions.
The content creator graduated in 2020. He then teamed up with Sam Kioko and came up with the Mwalimu Tom character.
They would often act out skits about school situations that often got people into trouble. Their content became popular with some of their skits amassing millions of views. Andrew would act as the teacher and Sam and others as the students.
