A tribute from -www.goodmorningkenya.com – to Papa Shirandula: Shine on your way, it is well.
I first met Charles Bukeko before he turned himself into Papa Shirandula in late 1999 when I had just joined the Kenya national theatre. By then everyone had a nickname for known or unknown reasons.
Papa was a jovial man, a man if you didn’t look at him twice, you would mistake him as an arrogant fellow. But with time, you hanged around him, you came to learn that he was just Papa.
Shirandula was in a group of fellow artists who used to sit at the Kenya national theatre VIPs. They already had been in the game and breaking into their cluster was a tall order for anyone just arriving at the national theatre.
At the Kenya National theatre then, we had many budding and established cats, so lanes were important. Papa was with Leny Juma, Konga ( RIP), Sammy Mwangi (Heart string) John Kiare ( Capital fm), Ian Mbugua ( Tusker project fame judge) and a host of other major names who I can’t include here.
This was the established class. They knew which company was hiring actors, hiring extras, planning to cast for advertising & commercials. The information was scarce, opportunity limited. Not forgetting, Redyculours were the Fathers of comedy. The trio had monopolised the comedy market for themselves.
The upcoming cats, included but not limited to Daniel Ndambuki, Peter Kanye, Ken Ambani, Mike Okinyi ( citizens TV), Wilbroda, Jalango who came much later after to join the fray, Sammy Muraya ( former KBC sports) Karuki Thigge (former KBC presenter) Ben Omondi ( Former Raster man to grace NTV news Anchor), Joel Otuko now on Papa Shirandula show, Njoro on Papa Shirandula Show, among many other notable names on, Motther inlaw, Tahidi high & other TV series.
Papa stood out due to his physicality. You couldn’t beat him even when you went for casting, some how, anyhow, Papa could always get a role to play, whether the director had a created it or not, he had to rearrange his script to give him a role to play.
Many people who know him know him from different angles, viewpoints, and different perspectives. For those who loved art and interacted with him, Papa loved acting, sometimes speaking to him, you wouldn’t know if he is in character acting or he is real.
I was fortunate to me Charles Bukeko the real & Papa Shirandula the character. As he progresses to Astral world, ancestral world, let’s pray God to grant his soul eternal peace, he touched many living souls and influenced many.
His physical absence will always remain unfilled, we will never meet a person who fill it, but in our minds he will always live, linger and hover on as long as acting and arts live.
From us www.goodmorningkenya.com we ask God to grant his family strength and power to live on without Papa and to accept it is the path to all of us. Rest in peace Papa.
