Lupita’s warm message to her dad before Tuesday’s election
Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o has sent her dad Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o a message of encouragement ahead of Tuesday’s General Elections.
The actress shared a video of her dad playing bop. She hailed her dad as a very thoughtful man.
“I am proud to have him on my team, and wish him well as he vies to lead the team in Kisumu County as Governor for five more years. And wishing the people of Kenya a peaceful and successful election!” she captioned the picture.
Last month, the actress said she shocked to learn about her father’s political story in Kenya.
It was during an interview with Ancestry (According to Ancestry, an American company that helps individuals understand their genealogy) when the 39-year-old learnt that Prof Nyong’o was an activist during the reign of President Daniel Moi, who was then an autocratic leader.
However, in 1980, Prof Nyong’o’s younger brother Charles mysteriously went missing. Reports later emerged that he fell off a ferry but the family believed that he was pushed off the ferry to intimidate Nyong’o.
In fear of a subsequent occurrence, Prof Nyong’o fled to Mexico City, where Lupita was born in 1983. He was employed as a university professor and in 1987 he returned to Kenya with his family despite the risks.
In his homeland in Kisumu, Prof Nyong’o resumed his activism by organizing a new movement to oppose the second president of Kenya. They operated underground since it was illegal.
In an interview transcript by Ancestry, Prof Nyong’o gave his experience in secretive meetings.
“We started organising the National Democratic Party, July 1987 to conceptualize the whole thing that was happening here in my house,” reads part of the transcript.
Prof Nyong’o was later seized after the government learnt about the secret meetings and taken to the Nyayo House torture chambers, where he was held for 26 days.
His political career dates back to 1992 when he was first elected to parliament. He served as a nominated MP from 1998 to 2002. From 2003 to 2005, Nyong’o served as the Minister for Planning and National Development and between 2008 and 2013, he was the Minister for Medical Services.
He was a member of the Kenyan Senate representing Kisumu County from March 4, 2013, to August 8, 2017. He then vied and was elected Kisumu Governor.