By Pauline Akello
Mark Agaba, commonly known as Uncle Mark, is what you would call a multifaceted. He is a born-again, popular comedian who has also made it as an outstanding events emcee.
At the heart of his journey is the awareness that laughter is a gift from God and humour can be used to build bridges between people of different experiences and opinions.
Uncle Mark often uses humour to share life experiences in a way that is witty and relatable with the aim of inspiring positive change in the world.
Childhood
The son of Jane and the late Godfrey Agaba, has had such a run in life. His life began in Kamwenge, his home district in Western Uganda where he grew up with his mother and siblings.
Growing up, he always served for free his humour to friends and siblings as he shared funny narrations and observations of his days.
However, home life in general was the opposite of funny. The loss of his father took a toll on his mother, who was single-handedly taking care of them all by herself.
He did not have any chance to bring her into his humour. She was often too overwhelmed with work. Nevertheless, she was able to raise them successfully.
Getting into comedy
His admiration for Kenneth Kimuli, commonly known as Pablo, stirred his love for comedy even when he believes humour is his innate character.
However, he did not try comedy until 2016, when he started performing at small parties.
The graduate of Economics (Makerere University) and Social Work and Social Administration (Uganda Christian University) got into public service after university, but he says “Something was missing” regardless of the great job he had.
His biggest stride into comedy was when he participated in The Comic Show on NBS Tv in 2017. This show was a competitive platform for rising comedians.
It was, therefore, a huge stepping stone for Mark as he emerged among the runners-up.
His outstanding performance opened for him an unforeseen door; getting booked to perform at the weekly comedy show- Comedy Store.
Uncle Mark says comedy can enrich society by allowing people to reflect on themselves and see other people’s viewpoints.
He believes the best delivery is the honest one with pillars and echoes of reflection.
Emceeing, joining media
Uncle Mark’s craft inevitably sold itself. Through his service of laughters at Comedy Store, he got requests to host events as an emcee, which he was thrilled to do.
Since then, he has had weddings to host every week. Uncle Mark describes his experience as “a natural progression where my dream keeps expanding because of consistency and a learner’s attitude.”
While emceeing at weddings, he says learning the kind of audience he is dealing with helps him give his craft the best.
“It makes hosting and entertaining easy- leaving both parties satisfied,” he says.
Spreading his wings wider in 2021, Uncle Mark decided to join the corporate world again when an opportunity at Next Media Uganda came up.
He is the Public Relations Protocol Executive where he is expected to coordinate activities of Next Media Services with partner international media organizations such as CNN and BBC.
Being born-again
As a born-again Christian, Uncle Mark says every time he is on stage is an opportunity to share the Gospel with people.
This is what makes him unique, his jokes are respectful, yet funny.
You will not have to worry about offensiveness when he has the platform.
Overall, he says the philosophy is grounded in the knowledge that humour can be a powerful force for good in the world.
It encourages individual reflection and avails for him the platform to share the Gospel.
He also believes that laughter can help to create a sense of community and connection among people from all walks of life, and he is here to give it.
