Uganda’s arts and entertainment industry is mourning the death of veteran playwright, actor, director, author and musician Alex Mukulu, a towering figure whose career helped shape the country’s modern theatre. Mukulu died on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at the age of 72, bringing to an end a remarkable artistic journey that stretched across several decades. Reports said he had been battling illness for some time, although the exact cause of his death had not been publicly confirmed.
Born in 1954 in Misebe, Ssingo County in Buganda, Mukulu was the son of Paulo Kayizi Lugaizi and Victoria Ndagire, a daughter of Prince Yokana Kimbugwe of Lungujja. His upbringing and connection to Buganda would later become important elements of the cultural identity reflected in parts of his artistic work.
Mukulu attended Kololo Secondary School, where his interest in drama began to take shape. Accounts of his early life indicate that he became president of the school’s drama club. He later left school and spent a period in music before returning to formal education. He subsequently studied Music, Dance and Drama at Makerere University, an experience that provided an important foundation for his long career in the performing arts.
His professional theatre career became particularly prominent from the late 1970s. Mukulu developed a distinctive style that combined drama, music, dance, satire and social commentary. Rather than restricting his productions to entertainment, he frequently used the stage as a platform to examine Uganda’s political history, social inequalities, culture, poverty, leadership and the challenges faced by ordinary citizens.
Among his earliest recorded productions were Muzukulu wa Kabangala, produced in 1977, followed by works including Engule ya Kamukukulu, Springs of Tears, The Cigarette, Opera Bakisimba and Twin Opera. His prolific output continued through the 1980s and 1990s with productions such as Wounds of Africa, Peasants Cry, Excuse Me Mzungu, The Guest of Honour and Radio Mambo Bado.
Perhaps no work is more closely associated with Mukulu than 30 Years of Bananas. First staged in the early 1990s, the production examined Uganda’s political, economic and social journey during the first three decades after independence. The play became recognised for its sharp analysis of the country’s turbulent history and established Mukulu as one of Uganda’s leading voices of political and social theatre. His book 30 Years of Bananas was later published by Oxford University Press in 1993.
Mukulu’s theatre was often deliberately provocative. He was known for asking difficult questions about power, leadership and society while challenging audiences to reflect on their own responsibilities. His approach earned him a reputation as a leading figure in Uganda’s protest and political theatre. One profile described him as a social commentator whose productions encouraged audiences to think beyond the immediate entertainment offered by the stage.
His influence was not confined to Uganda. Mukulu travelled internationally with his productions and became an important cultural ambassador. His artistic work explored themes ranging from politics and history to women, children, youth, Christianity and Ugandan culture. The Daily Monitor described him as having been at the centre of Ugandan theatre for roughly four decades and as a cultural ambassador whose work reached audiences beyond the country.
One of the most significant moments in his career came in 2007 when *Journey to Self-Realization* was performed during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala. The performance placed Ugandan theatre and cultural expression before an international audience and became another major milestone in Mukulu’s career.
Although Mukulu spent years away from Uganda’s mainstream performing-arts scene, he never abandoned theatre. In 2024, he returned to the Ugandan stage with Kulunkalu ne Kulumbisi: Yellow City vs. Red Ghetto, performed at the Uganda National Cultural Centre. The production drew inspiration from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet but transformed the familiar story into a distinctly Ugandan exploration of history, society, identity and division.
Beyond his own performances and writing, Mukulu also played an important role as a mentor. Generations of Ugandan performers encountered his ideas, productions and approach to theatre. His career demonstrated that drama could simultaneously entertain, educate, provoke debate and preserve cultural memory.
His death therefore represents more than the loss of an individual performer. It marks the passing of one of the artists who helped establish theatre as an important platform for public reflection in Uganda. His plays documented different periods of the country’s history while giving audiences a way to confront uncomfortable questions about politics, society and human behaviour.
In the days following his death, tributes poured in from Uganda’s arts community and public figures. Buganda’s Katikkiro, Charles Peter Mayiga, described Mukulu as a gifted artist who loved Buganda’s traditions and culture, while praising his work as a writer, director, actor, songwriter and singer.
The government has also become involved in discussions surrounding his funeral arrangements, with organisers saying his contribution to Uganda’s creative industry had made him a national asset deserving of an official send-off.
Alex Mukulu leaves behind a body of work that stretches from the theatre productions of the 1970s to his final years as an influential elder of Uganda’s performing arts. His scripts, performances, music, satire and mentorship ensured that generations of Ugandans could see aspects of their own history and society reflected on stage.
For many who knew his work, the final curtain may have fallen on Alex Mukulu, but his artistic legacy remains alive. Through 30 Years of Bananas, Wounds of Africa, The Guest of Honour, Excuse Me Mzungu, Journey to Self-Realization and numerous other productions, he left behind a theatrical record of Uganda as he saw it—complex, humorous, wounded, resilient and constantly searching for a better future.
At 72, Alex Mukulu leaves the stage not simply as a celebrated playwright, but as one of the defining voices of Uganda’s modern theatre. His death closes a major chapter in the country’s cultural history, while his work continues to provide future generations with stories, questions and lessons about Uganda and its people.
