Hollywood actress Lupita Nyong’o ‘s father, Hon Peter Anyang Nyongo was sworn in today, as the Governor of Kisumu County, Kenya. Professor Nyongo got 261,972 votes, representing 63% of the total votes cast, ahead of closest challenger and incumbent, Jack Ranguma in the Kisumu County governorship election.
To celebrate the victory, the Oscar winner penned a letter to her father, listing the ten things her told her when she was a little girl. Her post and more photos below…
“Today is the day my father gets sworn in as the Governor of Kisumu County in Kenya. I thank all those who voted for him and wish him the very best as he embarks on this new journey of socio-political representation,” she writes To celebrate this day from afar, I reflect on the 10 Things My Daddy Told Me When I Was A Kid That Gave Me Confidence:
1. You are smart: I took this to mean both that I was dressed well (We Kenyans say “smart” for “well-dressed”), but also that I was intelligent. It always made me feel special and valuable.
2. It will be OK: He said this whenever I was sad with the little burdens of my childhood (a fight with my friends, a broken doll, a lost favorite piece of clothing). He also said this when I was concerned with the big burdens of his adulthood (detention without trial, house arrests, caught in tear gas during violent riots). Daddy said this to me as he held me close and I always felt a sense of comfort and security from him. I knew he would do all he could to make my life safe and that he was doing the same to make the country better for all of us.
3. You can do anything: Daddy never EVER made me feel limited by my gender. He supported me when I did things that my society thought un-ladylike, like whistling, dressing like Kriss Kross, and even climbing trees in my adulthood. He was my first example of what feminism looks like on a man.
