Where is her dad? Lupita Nyongo celebrates 5 Kenyan heros
Oscar Award-winning actress Lupita Nyongo took to social media on October 2022 to celebrate with Kenyans on Mashujaa Day (Heroes Day).
The American-based Kenyan-Mexican daughter of the soil celebrated five people in particular for this year’s national celebrations.
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“October 20 is #MashujaaDay in Kenya when we honor our heroes and celebrate those who fought for Kenya’s independence. Here are some of my Kenyan heroes: (The late) Wangari Maathai was an activist and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
She founded The Green Belt Movement, which combines environmental conservation and women’s rights activism.
(The late) Binyavanga Wainaina was a celebrated author and journalist known for his award-winning short stories, essays and articles about African culture, societal norms, and stereotypes.
(His essay, “How To Write About Africa,” is the foundation for anyone interested in the continent.) He was also a brave LGBTQ rights advocate on and off the page,” Lupita began.
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She went on to list the greatest of all-time marathoner Eliud Kipchoge as her third Shujaa for 2022.
“He has Olympic champion medals from 2016 and 2020, and recently broke his own world record running 26.2 miles at a 4:37 pace at the 2022 Berlin Marathon,” she said.
37-year-old Kipchoge finished the race with a time of 2:01:09 at the September 25 meet and pocketed Sh 13.7 million for breaking his own record and winning the race.
“Okumba Miruka is an author who has dedicated his career to preserving the oral literary tradition of East African ethnic groups, including my people, the Luo.
Finally, my lovely aunt, Amondi Buyu, has been my hero from the very beginning.
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She introduced me to acting and has encouraged me at every step of my career. My life’s work is the fruit of the seed she planted.” concluded Lupita.
Conspicuously missing from her list is her father, Kisumu County Governor Anyang Nyongo.
The two have a very close relationship and always meet in and out of Kenya’s borders. Her father is a career politician who has held senior positions in government since 1993.
He was also Kisumu’s first Senator from 2013-2017. She has often been quoted praising her father so it remains a wonder why he didn’t make a list.
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