The irony of the brains behind Kingo cartoons

Dar es Salaam. For an avid newspaper reader in Tanzania, the name Kingo should be familiar. After all, the funny, clever or even stupid cartoon strip has graced local pages for more than 30 years now.

The satirical art work has been a popular read and entertainment for readers, some of whom admit it was one of their favourite items they never skip reading.

Kingo is the humorous work of James Gayo, 51, whose love for art since childhood drove him into a near permanent fixture at any given time in the pages of leading publications in the market.

At the moment, the strip is published daily in The Citizen and Mwananchi newspapers. But it has also crossed borders to Zambia where it is published in the Daily Mail, Uganda (Bukede and New Vision) and Kenya in the Star. “But my dream is to make Kingo move to even more countries,” he says.

Unlike Kingo, Gayo is unbelievably shy, down to earth and unassuming. He comes across as a totally different personality from the raucous cartoon character. “Kingo is funny and never shy, but Gayo is shy, and I think not as smart as Kingo, but not stupid,” he tells The Citizen on Saturday in an interview.

Like many of his followers, Gayo gets baffled at the reactions he gets from those who refuse to reconcile his persona to that of Kingo. Some compare his character to Rowan Atkinson, who is known the world over as Mr Bean.

“When I tell readers about me and Kingo, the expression I get is more than just a compliment. A majority are obviously struggling to look for the connection, but what is touching is the realisation that they truly enjoy Kingo escapades,” he says. He says like any artist in his genre, Kingo was bound to be more famous than himself. Gayo explains that the old man in Kingo is the representation of an intellectual mind that is not only meant to make people laugh, but also educate the society on many aspects of life.

He explains that ideas for his drawings are often spontaneous. “It is everywhere and anywhere. I take advantage of any situation I am in and try to create humour out of it because as you can see, Kingo is a reflection of what is happening in the society.”

Although Kingo has remained the same old guy for many years, Gayo says that changes in the society have shaped his thinking. “We have had a lot of development both good and bad, and so as Kingo is influenced, he is not thinking as he used to in the 80s and even his performance has changed.”

So, how well paying is Kingo? Gayo reveals that while he makes some earning from his talent, poor support systems that have been the concern of many other artists have confined him from making a descent pay.

‘It has taken courage to hang on there for that long. “This is because the cartoon industry in Tanzania won’t earn anyone a decent living and that is why many who have come after us have not lasted long. You have to be interested and passionate first.”

He supplements his income through GBA Africa, a communication company dealing in production of TV series, films and advertisement and is the publisher of Kingo Magazine.

Gayo, however, says that he believes in national strategies that empower artists to get their rightful share of earnings from their work. “The piracy problem for instance has been left there for many years at the expense of the artists.

He also feels that lack of properly equipped and funded performing art colleges would do to enhance skills.

“My counsel is let those of us in positions to influence change do so rather than wait for the government to do everything even when what we want is within our ability.”