Celebrated actor Maina Olwenya to be laid to rest
Kenyan actor Maina Olwenya, who died on Monday last week, will be laid to rest today at his grandfather’s home in Kangema, Murang’a county.
The celebrated actor, who is best remembered for his role in the movie Nairobi Half Life, died at a city hospital where he had been rushed for treatment after he collapsed
This week has been a particularly busy one for Olwenya’s friends and fellow thespians who were involved in his funeral arrangement.
On Tuesday, the burial committee met on Shix Kapienga live stream for a conversation with all the cast members of Nairobi Half Life.
On Wednesday, the cast members of and director of the Country Queen, Netflix production featuring Olwenya, met on Jacky Vike’s live stream for a similar conversation.
A day later, Olwenya’s friends and fellow thespians congregated at the Kenya National Theatre (KNT) for a night vigil, where tributes, stories, music and performances were staged in honour of Olwenya. Interestingly the Country Queen was launched the same day.
A postmortem conducted by his family showed that the late Olwenya succumbed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle thickens and complicates how the blood is pumped.
Last week, Olwenya’s family also refuted claims that he was a drunkard and that he died after over drinking.