News: We suffered real brutality & torture in Kenya- Peter Nyong'o (Lupita Nyong'o's dad)

The father of Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o has revealed how the 12 Years A Slave actress's family suffered real brutality and torture in Kenya. As an opponent of former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, the actress's father Peter Anyang Nyong'o was tortured repeatedly, while her uncle Charles Nyong'o's body was never found after he was attacked on board a ferry and hurled off the ship. Peter Nyong'o, now a leading Kenyan politician who serves on the country's Senate, has now revealed the true extent of family's brutal treatment, which led to them having to flee to Mexico where Lupita was born in March 1983. He said he had struggled to watch his daughter's acting triumph, but added that his own experiences pale in comparison to Solomon Northup, played in the historical drama by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor; “We were put into prison and the torture chambers by the regime, but it was like a dinner party when you compare it to what the slaves went through”.

Mr Nyong'o and wife Dorothy were forced to leave Kenya for Mexico, where he found work at  El Colegio de México as a visiting lecturer in political science, and where his daughter was born. On the family's return to Kenya in 1987 they had to go into hiding at a number of safe houses because Mr Nyong'o, who was trying to set up an underground democratic party, became the victim of harassment and arrest. As a young girl Lupita and her five brothers and sisters had to move with their parents from place to place, with her father often taken into police custody on a weekly basis, while the rest of the family were the victims of threatening phone calls. Mr Nyong'o said he thought that his daughter's insecure upbringing and constant need to adapt to new surroundings may have helped her to take on some of the transformative skills needed to become an actor. Both Mr Nyong'o and his wife travelled from Kenya to attend the Oscars ceremony where his daughter took home the Best Supporting Actress award, and he described her performance in 12 Years A Slave as 'tremendous'.