The legendary comedian Dereje and Habte funny comedy compilation. One of them is a high school graduate. The other one has obtained a diploma in accounting from another high school.
“Together we claim a college degree,” they told me in an apt comical quip. Dereje Haile and Habte Mitiku are without much flesh on their bones. The featherweights stormed Addis by surprise many years ago and evolved through time by trying to be funny, becoming funny, and being the funniest characters in town. They tend to impress upon us that they are comedians as their job is to crack jokes and make us laugh.
“Imagine someone trying to earn a living by telling jokes in a nation that has lived underground by telling all sorts of funny stories,” a friend confided years ago. “They were exerting their energy twice as much.” Anyone who has had access to ETV’s sole channel can identify Dereje and Habte – the pair that defined the essence of comedy in urban Ethiopia, as they followed in the footsteps of the pioneers, Alebachew and Limited.
Over two decades and more, and despite his slight change physically, people still smile or even laugh their hearts out just by locking eyes with Dereje. He had to fight through the loss of his friend, and the transition from being two to one when Habte passed away, making that shift in identity to become a standalone comedian.
Facing the same audience alone was not easy for him. However, for the last 10 years, Dereje remained attached to his friend through others who shared the loss. Now, Gorebetamochu, a comedy series in which he is a character, is broadcast on (EBS) and has proven very popular with the youth – some of whom would not have known him as one of that inseparable duo.
