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Celebrated thespian, director, singer, father and husband Charles Bukeko famed for his ‘Papa’ role in long-running Citizen TV show Papa Shirandula is dead. Bukeko, according to his family, died on Saturday, July 18 at the Karen Hospital after a short illness. "They have not given us the details. We are waiting for the hospital's report but he was just unwell," Bukeko's sister-in-law, Alice Atamba, told The Standard.
Born in Buhalarire, Kakamega County to a humble family, Bukeko,58, had prior to his death been the face of the TV drama - arguably third only to iconic productions Vitimbi and Vioja Mahakamani, and for over a decade, defined Kenya’s entertainment industry and through it, moulded careers of many notable personalities in the country such as comedians; Felix Odiwuor (Jalang’o), Jacqueline Nyaminde (Wilbroda), Jacky Vike (Awinja) and Davis Hezron Mwabili (Mwala) among others.
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Speaking to The Standard in 2016, Bukeko narrated that he schooled at Jogoo Road Primary School and Upper Hill Secondary before venturing into the industry “on the right foot”, He noted that his stellar career and fame were fruits of hard work having started out at the Kenya National Theatre where he used to trek for kilometres in the hunt for his big break from Eastland’s Uhuru estate where he resided on completing his studies.
“As the first child in a family of four, I had the responsibility to help my parents, Mrs Valeria Makokha and Cosmas Wafula, in taking take care of my siblings,” said Bukeko. While known by many for his Papa role, the widely travelled actor and Goodwill Ambassador for South East Asia who was catapulted to worldwide fame courtesy of his 2001 Coca-Cola advert made it to the screen courtesy of three chance interventions; One, a line read in 1998, a meeting with Ian Mbugua and a three-year training with James Forkland.
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“Dr JPR Ochieng Odera was my first director in 1998. He gave me a line which read ‘that camera doesn’t have a film’ which I did to his satisfaction... Initially, it almost seemed impossible since Kenyans preferred Mexican soaps that were ruling the airwaves. Today, I am glad that I have established a name for myself both locally and abroad -where I am often referred to as African king of comedy,” he added.
