Sidede Onyulo (1955–2008) was a Kenyan actor, most famous for his role as Owour in

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-winning movie ''

Nowhere in Africa ''Nowhere in Africa'' (german: Nirgendwo in Afrika) is a 2001 German drama film that was written and directed by Caroline Link. The screenplay is based on the 1995 autobiographical novel of the same name by Stefanie Zweig. It tells the story of ...

''.

Early life

Sidede Onyulo was born Peter Sidede Onyulo in Kajulu (Kenya), attended school at Muthaiga Primary (1965–1968) and at Nairobi School (1969–1976) before enrolling at the

University of Nairobi , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

where he studied law between 1975 and 1978. In 1979, Onyulo quit his law practice and decided to embrace theatre, a decision that was denounced by his friends and his family. Onyulo explained in an interview why acting had such a small number of fans in Kenya: “They think this is a career that should not be taken seriously and look down upon actors. They think we are mad the way the people of Kafira thought Jasper Wendo was in Betrayal of the city.”

Theatre and film

He made his acting debut with Jero in

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

's play ''Trials of Brother Jero''. He followed this with various roles in

Micere Githae Mugo Micere Githae Mugo (born Madeleine Micere Githae in 1942) is a playwright, author, activist, instructor and poet from Kenya. She is a literary critic and professor of literature in the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse Univers ...

and

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (; born James Ngugi; 5 January 1938) is a Literature of Kenya, Kenyan author and academic who writes primarily in Gikuyu language, Gikuyu and who formerly wrote in English language, English. He has been described as having bee ...

’s ''Trial of Dedan Kimathi'' and Francis Imbuga’s ''Betrayal in the City'' which were also presented at All Africa Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in Nigeria in 1977. Onyulo made his film debut in 1987 when he received the role of a house boy in ''Shadow on the Sun''. It is said that Kenyan film experts recommended him at a very early stage for the role of Owour, in ''

'', but he could not be found, having moved away from

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 ...

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Kenya by population, third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victor ...

, in the Western part of Kenya. A local casting agent tracked him down to his home village near

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and offered him the role that brought him fame at an international level. He was said to be a modest man, unaware that he had won the Best Supporting Actor award in the

Dublin Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer, international film critic and ' ...

for his role as Owour. Film producer Peter Herrman later presented the award to him. He has been in several major film productions, including '' Ivory Hunters'' (aka "The Last Elephant") (1990), ''

Eyes of a Witness Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of ...

'' (1991), ''

'' (2003), ''

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...

'' (2004), and ''

The Constant Gardener ''The Constant Gardener'' is a 2001 novel by British author John le Carré. The novel tells the story of Justin Quayle, a British diplomat whose activist wife is murdered. Believing there is something behind the murder, he seeks to uncover the t ...

'' (2005).

Other work

Onyulo was actively involved in grass-roots organizing of the film industry in Kenya, working with various performing arts groups. He also worked with non-governmental organizations, lending his talent to the anti-female-genital-mutilation Swahili documentary ''Price of a Daughter''.

Death

Onyulo fell sick while at his rural home at the foot of Kajulu hills and was rushed to a private hospital and died a week later.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Onyulo, Sidede Kenyan male stage actors 1955 births 2008 deaths Kenyan male film actors 20th-century Kenyan male actors 21st-century Kenyan male actors