Jerry Berry, proud Musoga who has taken TikTok by storm

EREEMYE JERRY BENJAMIN, 24, alias Jerry Berry, is a young lawyer who has taken the social media space of TikTok by storm.

He is mostly known for his catch phrase, “let me tell you something,” and his “Tuli Banene Tetuli batono Challenge” on TikTok, which jump-started his content creation journey.

His fame on social media has enabled him to endorse products for Captain Morgan and the now defunct USAID, and he has also been a judge for the Bell Lager competition, Chief Enjoyment Officer.

He recently sat down with Quick Talk to tell his story

Please introduce yourself properly.

My name is Ereemye Jerry Benjamin; Jerry Berry is the name that makes money. I am 24 years old, a proud Musoga [he answers calmly as he sips a glass of orange juice].

When you started content creation, did you believe it could turn out this big?

Before this content creation thing became so lucrative for me, I originally wanted to be an artiste, specifically a musician. I have been writing my music since P4.

However, I didn’t get into the music because I realized it’s quite expensive to make music, so during lockdown, I saw that content creators had hit the social media space at full throttle.

Then in 2022 while attending a house party, a friend of mine flashed a camera into my face and told me to say something. So, I said the first words that came into my head: “ffe tuli banene tetuli batono”, which became a success overnight and even had musicians such as Rabadaba doing challenges on TikTok.

Did the video get lots of views?

The video went viral on social media though I didn’t personally post it on my social media handle, and this made me decide to be more immersed in posting my content on social media rather than having scenarios where people were calling me a friend’s name based on the fact that they posted it on their social media platform.

So, is your content generally parodies about life?

Yes! My content is generally parodies about life; I view them as jokes, but at times I get challenged so many times when people tend not to understand the joke and view life as something that is supposed to be serious.

How many followers do you have?

I have over 89.9k followers on TikTok and I have over 3.3 million views for the content I have posted on TikTok.

Has your fame on the social media got you endorsements yet?

Yes, I have had opportunities to endorse products, though I have rejected some because I don’t know how to push them.

I have worked with Bell, I have endorsed products from Captain Morgan, I have also worked with USAID where I had a one-year contract but with aid cuts, the project I was working under was cut, which was very sad since I was promoting oral HIV testing kits and also promoting awareness about HIV/Aids.

You are a lawyer; do you see yourself practicing law at some point?

I have always seen myself practicing law, but truthfully speaking, I have always wanted to create content.

One thing I remember growing up, the very first phone my parents bought for me that had a camera, I attempted to use it to record a movie despite it being a button phone. I wouldn’t choose between my law career and content creation career, but rather embrace both of those career paths that are set before me.

How do you balance the two?

Everything runs with the calendar. As a lawyer, you know when you have time and you know when you don’t have time, and it’s based on my calendar.

How was it growing up as Ereemye Jerry Benjamin?

I grew up at a time when it was not ok for people to know that you were a Musoga. You were always talked about in a certain way, I was always ridiculed, which was not very good.

My surname was quite rare: “Ereemye”. Looking back to those days, people would look at my name, and they thought I was an Itesot.

In school I remember that somebody spread a rumour that they heard a name like mine in a Nigerian movie, so I must be Nigerian, and trust me when I tell you that I didn’t deny! For a while most of my friends thought I am Nigerian and I told my parents never to speak with me Lusoga at school and for a very long time they didn’t do it.

But time came and I decided to speak Lusoga, which made me realize when you are proud to be a Musoga it will not [matter] what people say.

Which schools did you go to?

I was very stubborn, growing up, so I went to many schools. I studied in seven to eight schools. For primary St Xavio Junior School then to Mother Kevin Memorial Nsambya, then to Hormisdalen Kirinya where I did my P.7 from.

For my Secondary education, I went to St Joseph’s Nagalama and then to Iganga high and I completed my Olevel from Makerere College School and for my A level I went to Our Lady Queen of Africa where I did History Entrepreneurship and Literature and for my University education I went to Makerere University where I did a Bachelors in Law and also attained a Diploma in legal practice from Law Development Centre in 2024.

Given an opportunity what would you choose to study further?

Right now, I haven’t moved further with education because I haven’t yet figured it out. I don’t want to rush into anything I feel like it’s a very important decision to make and with the limited time we have in life, it’s very important to always do the right thing.

Like I wouldn’t gamble two years of my life doing a masters in something I am not interested in…

Have your parents been supportive of your TikTok choices?

In the beginning my dad was worried but my mum was not worried. The only way I could prove to my dad that I would handle was by not failing.

Besides being a content creator, I am into business; I run a business called Masterpiece Kampala, which deals in tailored apparel.

I needed to prove to them that I wouldn’t fail which I achieved by graduating twice in one year from LLB in January and from LDC in December; but through it all my parents have been very supportive.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

I see myself driving a Mercedes Benz GLE with tinted windows going out to crack a business deal.

What are your hobbies?

I love swimming and I love doing stuff myself [DIY].

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