Who Was Alex Mukulu? The Theatre Legend Who Turned Uganda’s History Into Drama

What the report says

Uganda’s creative arts community is mourning the death of Alex Mukulu, a prominent playwright, actor, director, musician and broadcaster whose career spanned more than four decades. Watchdog Uganda reported that Mukulu died on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at age 72 in Kampala. His work is widely credited with helping define modern Ugandan theatre and with bringing political, cultural and social questions to the stage in a way that reached broad audiences.

According to the report, Mukulu was born in 1954 in Misebe in Ssingo County, Buganda, and studied drama and film at Makerere University after attending Namilyango College and Kololo Secondary School. He began his professional stage career in 1977 with Muzukulu wa Kabangala and later produced a large body of work, including Wounds of Africa, The Guest of Honour, Excuse Me Mzungu and Dances with Poverty. The article says he wrote about 30 plays and became known for using theatre to examine Uganda’s history, politics, poverty, religion and everyday life.

His best-known production was 30 Years of Bananas, a political satire first staged in the early 1990s and later published by Oxford University Press in 1993. The play reflected on Uganda’s post-independence political journey and made him a household name. The report also highlights his 2007 performance at the CHOGM opening ceremony in Kampala and his 2024 return to the National Theatre after a long absence.

Tributes cited in the article, including from Buganda’s Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga, emphasized Mukulu’s role as a cultural ambassador and mentor. His death marks the loss of a major figure in Ugandan performing arts, with his influence continuing through his plays, students and wider cultural legacy.