Eric Omondi recalls being embarrassed after his brother Fred stole his joke on stage
Comedian Eric Omondi has opened up about an awkward moment in his early stand-up career, recalling how a mix-up involving his late brother and fellow comedian Fred Omondi left him humiliated in front of a live audience.
Speaking during an interview with the Mic Cheque Podcast on Sunday, November 30, 2025, Eric said the incident happened years ago when the two were performing at Nyeri Technical College, at a time when they regularly toured campuses with their stand-up acts.
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“There used to be a joke I always performed during my stand-up shows about how different tribes dance. People loved it so much that whenever I went somewhere to perform, they would call me out if I didn’t deliver that joke. One day, my brother Fred and I went to perform at Nyeri Technical College. Fred usually went first during our shows, and I would follow him, waiting in the car until it was my turn,” Eric said.
Eric explained that he had a signature joke that crowds absolutely loved, as it was an extended bit about how different Kenyan tribes dance. He said the joke was so popular that audiences would often demand it whenever he stepped on stage.
But on that particular day, things took a strange turn.
“Little did I know, Fred went on stage and delivered the very same joke I had prepared. It’s a long joke, one that normally takes about ten minutes,” he said.
Eric said that while waiting in the car for his cue, he had no idea that Fred had already taken to the stage and performed the very same joke, word for word, and worse, it was the long 10-minute version.
Eric only discovered this after he walked in confidently, launched into the joke, and was met with blank stares instead of the laughter he was used to.
He said it quickly became clear that the audience wasn’t responding because they had just heard Fred deliver the exact same bit moments earlier.
“When I was ushered in and started performing, I was confused because the audience wasn’t laughing, they were giving me very weird looks. That’s when I realised Fred had already told the joke,” Eric said.
According to Eric, the moment was extremely embarrassing because he couldn’t understand why the packed hall wasn’t reacting.
He said it only made sense when Fred hurried back to the stage after noticing what had happened, jokingly admitting to the audience that he had already used Eric’s material.
Eric added that Fred’s quick thinking salvaged the moment, allowing him to turn the blunder into a humorous exchange and continue the show without tension.
“When he noticed my embarrassment, he came back on stage and explained that he had delivered the joke in a comedic way that the audience didn’t fully understand, effectively saving me. I managed to turn the situation into a joke during the show, but it was still very embarrassing,” he said.
He added that after the incident, they agreed to strictly separate their material going forward to avoid such mishaps.
“After that incident, we made a rule that my material is mine and his is his, so something like that wouldn’t happen again,” he said.
Fred Omondi, who was also a well-known comedian and a regular in Kenya’s live comedy circuit, passed away in June 2024.
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Steve Ireri
Steve is a senior writer with over four years of experience in digital journalism. His focus is on the showbiz and human interest stories. Emails: [email protected] , [email protected]
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