Kenya is once again grieving the sudden  demise of a major face in the comedy industry, Charles Bukeko, popularly known as Papa Shirandula who passed on Saturday morning, at the Karen Hospital family.

According to the family spokesman Bernard Wanyama, the actor had been sick for only a couple of days before succumbing to his death.

“He was out of Nairobi for work for some time and returned on Sunday. On Monday, he was complaining that he was not feeling  well, maybe because he was in a colder environment when he was out of Nairobi, so he went to Karen hospital for treatment. At the hospital he was diagnosed with pneumonia and prescribed medication for the same, he was released for home management,” Said Wanyama.

He adds that only 4 days later, things were getting out of hand as his health was not showing improvements.

“He started complaining again on Friday night that he was not feeling very well, so the plan was to get to hospital the following morning. On Saturday morning the situation had gotten really worse and the wife had to rush him to Karen hospital, where he passed on arrival. He did not have an opportunity to even see the doctor,” He adds.

Bukeko had joined the acting industry right about the time he cleared high school studies in Upper Hills secondary, which was not always a smooth road.

In 1998,he  met Dr JPR Ochieng’ Odera  who would become his first ever director before moving onto Phoenix Theatre where he ran into Ian Mbugua and who, in turn, introduced him to James Falkland, who trained him for 3 more years  on the basics of theatre performances at absolutely no charge. But his breakthrough came with his feature in the Papa Shirandula TV series in 2010.

The 58 years old husband and father of three won the 2010 kalasha awards for best actor, in a TV series. And he also featured in the film, The captain of Nakara. Papa Shirandula opened a lot of doors, a role which became hard for people  to separate from the person he was.

A statement by the Royal Media Services group Managing Director, Mr Wachira Waruru, the actor passed away on Saturday morning to the shock of the whole fraternity.

“…Papa, as he was fondly known within the royal media fraternity, represented a pioneering group of Kenyan actors who immensely contributed to the growth and success of local productions. I am honored to have worked closely with Bukeko in the creation of the Papa Shirandula series that immediately gained wide acceptance across the country. His passing is therefore a big loss not only to the royal media family and Kenya’s acting fraternity but also to the country as a whole. His legacy and contribution to Kenya’s TV Industry will continue to impact many generations to come,” it read.

He will be laid to rest tomorrow (Monday) at his home in Busia County.