Arabron Nyyneque Osanya is a popular Kenyan actor who was intrigued by acting from a young age. Today, he has featured in some of Kenya’s greatest shows but most will always remember him as Jack Mwamba of Mother-in-law.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Jack Mwamba Background
Arabron was born in New York to a Kenyan father and an African American mother. They met while his father was studying at Indiana University.
He was born a twin with his elder sister being born minutes earlier than him. His two younger brothers are also twins.
His father worked in the Foreign Affairs ministry and later for various organizations, such as the United Nations and the African Union. All of his siblings reside in the United States.
Jack Mwamba Acting Career
Arabron has been in the acting industry for close to four decades. He started sharpening his acting career at the theatre.
On screen, he has been featured in various programs, including minor roles on Wingu la Moto and Selina.
However, the most notable roles was the portrayal of Jack Mwamba on Mother-in-Law. He believes the program was such a success because of the energy of the cast, and the relatability of the story.
Most people have encountered a controlling Mother-in-law at some point. It also helped that the program aired at 7:30 every Sunday.
Another famous role he has played is Abasi on Kona, a very strict and mean character. In fact, during production, he once scared off an actor when he got into character.
The actor had to be talked into going back to perform the scene and the two had to talk later to create a rapport.
Then, he voiced over the Wizard on TerrorStorm, an animated Kenyan film. The seasoned actor went on to be casted as Pastor Musa on the drama Faithless.
He played the role of a married pastor with a wandering eye. He is killed after the fourth episode. This was followed by a role on the telenovela Second Family, which is a story of secrets, greed and money.
The actor has also been featured on Kenya’s thriller 40 Sticks. This is a movie that takes us through the struggles of prisoners who find themselves stuck in a forest rife with wild animals and a mysterious killer after the crash of their prison bus.
Voice Over
Apart from acting, the former Mother-in-law actor has built a name for himself in the voice over industry.
He has been the voice behind many commercials for more than two decades, from Toss, Tusker to Dettol. He is the man behind the popular voice “Dettol. Be 100% sure.
Nyyneque has reportedly made up to Ksh300,000 for a 30 second voice over.
Boundaries
As an actor, he said in an interview with Cheptoek Boyo, that there are certain roles he wouldn’t take.
One of them being bedroom scenes because of his wife and the other gay roles. The latter isn’t due to being homophobic but because he does not understand it.
He loves to portray roles where he can internalize the character and identify with their feelings and emotions.
This is why he goes through his scripts severally not just to get what is being said but to also interpret what is not being said.
Jack Mwamba Family
Arabron has kept his family out of the limelight. However, he admitted that he had a tumultuous marriage for years.
It was not until he decided to keep quiet and count to ten before beginning to talk in case something wasn’t as it should be that the marriage became peaceful. The father of seven believes that it is a man’s duty to keep his home peaceful.
