KAMPALA, Uganda — Veteran Ugandan playwright, actor and author Alex Mukulu has died aged 72, marking the loss of one of the country’s most influential theatre figures.
Mukulu died on Saturday, August 15, 2026, with news of his death triggering an outpouring of tributes from Uganda’s arts, media and literary communities. New Vision reported his death and described his stage career as spanning more than three decades.
Details surrounding the circumstances of his death had not immediately been made public.
Born in 1954 in Misebe, Ssingo County in Buganda, Mukulu studied at Kololo Secondary School before pursuing Film and Drama at Makerere University in Kampala.
He went on to build a career that combined theatre, acting, writing and directing, producing works that frequently examined Uganda’s political history, social tensions and changing society.
‘30 Years of Bananas’ defined his legacy
Mukulu became particularly known for 30 Years of Bananas, a political and social satire first staged in 1992 as Uganda marked 30 years of independence.
The production examined Uganda’s political trajectory and the social and economic challenges that had shaped the country since independence. Daily Monitor described the play as an analytical work that invited audiences to reflect on Uganda’s political, social and economic gains and losses.
The work later became a book, published by Oxford University Press in 1993.
Its themes remained relevant decades after its debut. In 2019, the play was revived in Kampala, with its portrayal of political leadership, economic inequality and Uganda’s post-independence experience continuing to resonate with audiences.
Mukulu’s work was not confined to one production. His theatre career began in the 1970s with Muzukulu wa Kabangala, produced in 1977, and extended through numerous plays, including Wounds of Africa, The Guest of Honour, Radio Mambo Bado and The People’s President, produced in 2022.
A theatre career spanning generations
Mukulu’s influence extended beyond the plays he wrote and directed.
He was also recognised for mentoring younger artists and helping sustain Ugandan theatre at a time when the industry faced significant challenges.
In 2024, he returned to Uganda’s theatre scene after years working outside the country’s theatre circuit, presenting Kulunkalu ne Kulumbisi at the National Theatre in Kampala. The production used a local adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to explore political and social divisions in Uganda.
In an interview that year, Mukulu explained that his return was motivated by what he had observed about Ugandan society and his desire to use theatre to address issues facing the country.
His work frequently treated theatre as more than entertainment.
In Kulunkalu ne Kulumbisi, for example, he used the image of two grasshoppers placed together and eating one another as a metaphor for Uganda’s political and social divisions.
His work reached an international audience
Mukulu’s contribution to Ugandan theatre also extended to major international events.
His production Journey to Self-Realization was performed during the opening ceremony of the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala.
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The event brought leaders from Commonwealth countries to Uganda and gave Mukulu’s theatrical work a prominent international platform.
By 2024, the East African Performing Arts Market described Mukulu as a Ugandan playwright with more than 27 plays and dramas written and directed, underscoring the breadth of his contribution to the performing arts.
Tributes
News of Mukulu’s death prompted tributes from people across Uganda’s creative and media industries, many highlighting his contribution to theatre and his role in mentoring younger performers.
His death comes at a time when Uganda’s theatre community continues to grapple with the challenge of keeping live theatre relevant to younger audiences amid the growth of television, streaming platforms and social media.
For generations of Ugandan theatre-goers, however, Mukulu’s work provided something that went beyond performance: a way of examining the country’s politics, history and society through satire and storytelling.
His 30 Years of Bananas in particular remains one of the most recognisable examples of Ugandan political theatre, with its central questions about the country’s post-independence journey continuing to resonate decades after it was first staged.
Mukulu leaves behind a body of work that helped establish theatre as both a creative art and a platform for social commentary in Uganda.
