Who is Dickson Zizinga? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, tribe, comedy, YouTube, net worth, girlfriend and relationship with Ann Kansiime, Twezimbe and Gigenda Gitya, early life and education of a Ugandan dancehall recording artist.
Dickson Zizinga is a comedian, radio host, entertainer and television personality from Uganda. He is well known for his brand of silent sketch comedy.
Zizinga, who was born with a sinister deadpan expression, has dazzled audiences in theatre, stand-up comedy, commercials, sitcoms, and drama with humour that focuses more on the physical than the spoken word.
Early life and Education
Dickson Zizinga was born in 1976 in Kayunga district in central Uganda. He was born to the late Emmanuel and Agnes Bulenga. He moved away from the Kayunga district at the age of 14.
He is the family’s eldest son and his father’s heir. He recalls how his father worked hard to make sure the family in the Kangulumira-Kayunga district never went without the necessities.
In the then-Mukono district, only his father had a licence to make unrefined Waragi, a strong gin. Zizinga claims that the first time he tried Waragi, it didn’t go well. He still doesn’t consume alcohol or use cigarettes.
When he first arrived in Kampala, he adds, “Life wasn’t simple back then in the village and even when I moved here, I spent the majority of my teenage life doing odd jobs along the streets.”
He attended Alpha Primary School and Kangulumira Nursery School in Kayunga District for his primary education then joined St Ponsiano Primary School. Later on, he enrolled in Kampala Secondary School, where he completed his secondary schooling.
After finishing high school, he enrolled at Pioneer Adult Education Centre in Kayunga, and a Makerere University adult literacy basic education centre, where he was pursuing a diploma in performing arts.
Dickson Zizinga, who excelled in math and other sciences and had aspirations of becoming a mechanical engineer and a doctor, was unable to realise his dream due to financial constraints.
He still hoped to go back to school at the age of 42 in order to professionalise his acting career. His desire was to at least hold a certificate or degree in his field.
He returned to school in 2005 as an adult learner and earned his Ordinary Level diploma. Because of the grief he had after losing his fiancée and the mother of two of his children, he studied for Senior Sixth grade but failed.
Dickson Zizinga is not married although he has fathered five children from three different mothers all of different tribes. His first woman gave birth to two children before they divorced in 1999 and she later passed away in 2006 from poisoning by her relatives.
His second woman gave birth to one child before they parted ways due to misunderstandings since she was from a rich family that couldn’t accept him.
Unfortunately, she also passed away after being hit by an iron bar by thugs in 2010. His third woman gave birth to the other two of his children.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Dickson Zizinga started driving cabs in 1994 in an effort to make ends meet until 2012. He had taken over his uncle’s vehicle when he retired after training with his cousin Rashid Mayengo behind his back.
Zizinga may come across as a natural, but in reality, he entered the comedy world by accident in 1997. His cousin encouraged him to join a theatre troupe called the Theatricos which was owned by director Christopher Mukiibi.
According to Zizinga, it was unfair terrain for a newcomer vying for a position among more than 80 group members. He thus began as an extra but quickly worked his way up to become one of the group’s top ten actors.
His big break came when he wrote a play called Waabalabye, which is Swahili for “Did you see them?” said as a statement. It was a turning moment for him with his performance in this play and he made the decision to give up driving a cab and focus on acting as a passion and a career.
In the same production, Zzizinga got to know Phillip Luswata and together they founded Theater Factory in 2002. Here, he had his first taste of the comedy business.
He was one of the characters in a TV show adapted from the book “Child of a Delegate,” written by Mary Karooro Okurut, a former literature instructor at Makerere University who is now a government minister.
After working with Luswata for seven years, Zizinga and numerous other people, including award-winning comic Ann Kansiime, split up. They started the comic troupe Fun Factory in 2009, which performs every Thursday at the National Theatre.
Zizinga primarily performs theatrical humour, but occasionally he switches to the stand-up style. He claims that he loves sketch comedy, which is a means for the Fun Factory to use numerous performers as opposed than simply one person performing stand-up comedy.
Dickson Zizinga rose to fame both for the type of comedy he performed and for his radio work on Dembe FM. He has been the host of chat shows called Twezimbe and Gigenda Gitya. He started at Dembe FM in 2011 which led to him stopping the cab driving business.
Zizinga left Dembe FM to work with Maiden Africa, a South African company where he hosts the Mini Buzz programme that is aired on any local TV station having first featured on NTV.
He expresses gratitude to Philip Luswata for introducing him to the television audience and gives Christopher Mukiibi credit for assisting him in realising his comedic and acting potential.
Dickson Zizinga claimed that he had previously experimented with the music business by recording a few songs that were never made available to the general public.
He played a small part in The Last King of Scotland as well as the well-known Ugandan television series The Hostel.
He even decided to start a venture called Zizu, where he performed some silent humour which quickly gained a lot of popularity.
He says his inspirations are Roy Atkinson, better known as Mr Bean, and Charlie Chaplain.
Achievements and Awards
Many young people who want to enter the field of comedy look up to Dickson Zizinga as an inspiration.
He has acted in mini-TV series like The Hostel (2011), Mizigo Express (2018) and Engaito (2021). He is also the writer of Mizigo Express.
Controversies
In 2020, Dickson Zizinga admitted that he would dearly love to enter Ugandan politics, but it is a lie. He expressed his views on the country’s politics in an interview.
Zizinga said to NBS TV’s UnCut programme that he would like to run for the Kangulumira Member of Parliament seat in 2021 but is concerned that despite how much people adore him, they might end up supporting another politician who offers to bribe them with a kilo of rice instead.
He spoke candidly about his intention to enter politics while boasting about his eligibility as a candidate for the local MP seat because he had the necessary academic credentials.
He added that one needs to invest large sums of money ranging from UGX 600 million to a billion shillings to run for a Parliamentary seat and that Ugandan politics has evolved into a business endeavour rather than serving the nation.
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