Peter Sankale alias Olexander Josphat needs little introduction to the Kenyan audience, having graced our screens over the last 3 decades.
Alongside the likes of Ondiek and Makokha, he formed part of the hilarious team that made Vioja Mahakamani a must-watch show on KBC.
Speaking to Daniel 'Churchill' Ndambuki on July 19, Olexander gave a candid narration of the moments that defined his life including walking away from a stable job at Pan African Bank to pursue his dream.
"It was a really big problem back home. My mum was lamenting to anyone who would care to listen how I had walked away from a respectable suit and tie job, to go an make people laugh on TV. I was questioned every where I went including church," he explained.
However, his manager at the bank, Charles Gitonga, was the one who actually gave him the push he needed to try out his hand in comedy, after calling him to his office and urging him to try out TV comedy, going on to confess that he thought Olexander was a naturally gifted comedian.
That is how he ended up making his way to the KBC studios and auditioning for a role in the smash hit Vitimbi show, which boasted a cast that included legends such as the late Mzee Ojwang and Masanduku as well as Mama Kayai.
Olexander started out as an extra - this involved playing the role of a customer at a hotel which was part of the sets in the show.
During this period, he still used to double as a bank clerk to make ends meet, however, after one year, he quit and decided to direct all his energy towards his career in comedy.
He was then called up as one of the lead characters in Vioja Mahakamani, and the rest is history.
Churchill was visibly startled when Olexander disclosed that he used to earn Ksh700 per episode at the time.
Notably, the veteran comedian stated that this did not bother him as he felt at home on the set of the show, adding that he was utterly convinced that comedy was his true calling.
A devout christian, Olexander purposed to persevere and it all paid off in the end when KBC offered the cast improved contracts which he only disclosed as "acha tuseme pesa ilianza kuingia, (let's just say money started trickling in).
The crew of Vioja Mahakamani has entertained Kenyans on countless national holidays, with Olexander going even further by starting his own emceeing enterprise.
He has become so good at it that he goes as far as the US just to emcee at corporate events, weddings, parties and varius social gathering events.
Despite his success and vast experience, he was quick to advice upcoming artists to run as far as they could from the 'celebrity' tag.
He argued that one should strive to have their work celebrated, arguing that the celebrity tag often resulted in depression as artists earning little to nothing struggled to keep up appearances, 'trust in the process' he asserted.
Watch Olexander's story below:
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