In Memoriam: Jackson Bodo Wayan Mwita

We are saddened that “The Team” in Kenya has lost a valued cast member.

Jackson Bodo Wayan Mwita “Oli” was attacked in a robbery attempt in Nairobi and he died of his injuries in Kenyatta Hospital on August 28th. Mwita was 25.

Those of us involved with The Team mourn the loss of this talented young actor to this senseless act of violence. He played the character named Oli, a young man who dreams of winning a football scholarship so that he can one day go to law school. Oli’s dreams are temporarily shattered when, for the first time in his life, he witnesses an attack on a teammate’s brother and he becomes disillusioned. Eventually, the character overcomes his deep disappointment. He realizes that many people in Kenya have lost friends and loved ones to senseless violence whether due to poverty or ethnic conflict but that the only way to forward is not to seek revenge but for all of us to work together to find a way to prevent it from happening in the first place.

In real life, Mwita was among the cast members of The Team who volunteered to join our mobile cinema series which takes episodes of The Team to the impoverished communities in Kenya where televisions are beyond their reach. These are the communities at the heart of the post election violence where we hope that creating the space for dialogue and discussion will lead to peaceful change and a better future for Kenya.

Mwita was a young man committed to peaceful co-existence and he will be missed. All of us at SFCG would like to extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

- Deborah Jones, Executive Producer, The Team.