Joseph Ogola Olita (31 March 1944Joseph Olita biography at ''The New York Times''
/ref> – 1 June 2014) was a Kenyan actor who was best known for portraying

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

in '' Rise and Fall of Idi Amin'' (1981) and ''

Mississippi Masala ''Mississippi Masala'' is a 1991 romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores ...

'' (1991).

Early life and education

Joseph Ogola OlitaKenyan Actor who Played Idi Amin In Film Passes On
on YouTube was born on 31 March 1944 to mother Regina Oduma. In 1951, Olita attended Pap Oriang Primary School. In 1958, he enrolled at St. Mary's Yala where he went for his O level and was an active drama club member. After completing his secondary education, Olita was an employee of the Brooke Bond Company in Kericho and the Union Carbide in

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitant ...

. Olita was a deeply spiritual man having attended Barding Secondary School, between 1956 and 1960, and later proceeded to Yala Seminary School. Olita was working for

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

when the opportunity to act in 1981's ''Rise and Fall of Idi Amin'' presented itself.Joseph Olita
at YouTube

Acting career

According to

NTV Uganda NTV Uganda is a Ugandan television station under the Nation Media Group, NMG, operating in East Africa. It has been on air since 2006. It is one of the companies owned by Aga Khan IV. During the Arua elections, NTV Uganda reporter Herbert Zziwa ...

, Olita did not know much about Amin, so he "read a lot about him through books, through newspapers and the clips." He missed the chance to act as him when he was approached to portray the role in the 1976 film, ''

Victory at Entebbe ''Victory at Entebbe'' is a 1976 American made-for-television action-drama film for broadcast on ABC, directed by Marvin J. Chomsky. The film starred Helmut Berger, Linda Blair, Anthony Hopkins, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Dre ...

''. When it came time to portray him in ''Rise and Fall'', "I really had to master his mannerisms." ''Rise and Fall of Idi Amin'' won five awards, including Best Actor, at the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

International Film Festival. Olita not receiving an Oscar nomination for his performance has been considered one of the worst acting snubs in the history of the Academy Awards. "You see these wazungu are so selfish. They just wanted to make one of their own a star. (Forest) Whitaker’s performance and role in ''

The Last King of Scotland ''The Last King of Scotland'' is a novel by journalist Giles Foden, published by Faber and Faber in 1998. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel, which interweaves fiction and ...

'' is nowhere close to what I did and still able to do," says Olita. In 1984, Olita portrayed the minor role of the First Policeman in '' Sheena''.Hollywood.com
/ref> In 1991, he reprised his role as Amin for the second and final time in ''Mississippi Masala'' which also starred

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

.Veteran Actor Joseph Olita Dies
at YouTube Olita also portrayed an army general in ''

The Black Forest Clinic ''The Black Forest Clinic'' (german: Die Schwarzwaldklinik, ) is a German medical drama television series that was produced by and filmed in West Germany. The series was produced between 1984 and 1988 with the original airing being from October 2 ...

''. Olita's final screen appearance was in the 2011 romantic comedy, ''

The Captain of Nakara ''The Captain of Nakara'' is a 2012 Kenyan comedy film. It is an adaption of the German play '' The Captain of Köpenick'' by Carl Zuckmayer, itself based on the life story of Wilhelm Voigt Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt (13 February 1849 – 3 Janua ...

'', in which he portrayed Muntu’s father in-law.

Life after acting

Olita was also an

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and a

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

. In 1998, he founded the Galamoro Network, a non-government organization that focused on raising awareness on

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. Following the election of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

as the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to be

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in 2008, Olita founded a tour company named ”Kogelo gallamoro tours” which took opportunity of the foreign visitors who kept pouring into Obama’s ancestral home town, Kogelo. Olita was also the author of two books. One of them is a book on

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

titled ''Health is Wealth''. In July 2013, Olita was spotted on the streets of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

selling unlicensed copies of his movies. Before his death, Olita was staying in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

where he was selling electrical appliances.

Personal life and death

In 1980, while Olita was working in his well known role playing Idi Amin, he wrote a letter to the real Amin requesting to meet him but Amin never responded. In a 2013 interview, Olita described himself as a

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

. He also admitted to have had three wives as well as having fathered eight sons and four daughters. One of his wives died from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. Olita died on 1 June 2014 at his rural home in Pap Oriang’ in South East Alego of the

Siaya District Siaya County is one of the counties in the former Nyanza Province in the Western part of Kenya. It is bordered by Busia County to the north, Kakamega County and Vihiga County's to the northeast and Kisumu County to the southeast. It shares a wa ...

at the age of 70 after succumbing to

high blood pressure Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

. He had reportedly returned home on the day before from

, where he had been living after the funeral of his mother. According to his brother, Matthews Ogola, Olita was suffering from

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

, diabetes and high blood pressure at the time of his death. Despite his stardom from ''Rise and Fall of Idi Amin'', Olita died a poor man. According to Sipross Odero, a relative of Olita, his body was removed to Bama Private Hospital mortuary. A funeral committee has been set up in his home village chaired by the South Alego Ward representative Joshua Osuri. Along with his aforementioned living relatives, Olita is survived by one wife, by the name of Alice Atieno, and several children including daughter Risper Odero, and grandchildren.

Select filmography

*'' Rise and Fall of Idi Amin'' (1981) - Idi Amin *'' Sheena'' (1984) - 1st Policeman *''Le miniere del Kilimangiaro'' (1986) - Tribe Chief (uncredited) *''

'' (1991) - Idi Amin (Last appearance) *''

'' (2012) - Muntu's father-in-law

References

External links

YouTube

Renowned Kenyan actor Joseph Olita dies at the age of seventyKenyan Actor who Played Idi Amin In Film Passes OnJoseph OlitaObituary: Joseph Olita on playing Idi AminVeteran Actor Joseph Olita DiesGBS KENYA "IDI AMIN"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olita, Joseph 1944 births 2014 deaths Kenyan male film actors Kenyan Christians Place of birth missing People from Siaya County 20th-century Kenyan male actors