Filmmaker Silas Miami disowns his father, former KTN journalist Louis Otieno

Miami, the retired journalist's biological son, has unequivocally refused to be associated in any way to Louis, saying that they share no relationship aside from paternity.

Writing to NTV journalist James Smart, Silas also asked Kenyan media to desist from associating them in reports, disclosing that Otieno had also been clear in his dissociation to Silas and his mother.

The screenwriter stated that Otieno had hurt him in unthinkable ways.

“In fact, for years [only] a handful people knew he was my biological father… Louis made it abundantly clear that he wanted nothing to do with me. I struggled with it, it hurt me in unthinkable ways. Thankfully the trauma therapy and years of unlearning survival mode have gotten me to a place of acceptance and healing,” Silas said in part.

Silas Miami speaks on his relationship with father Louis Otieno Silas Miami speaks on his relationship with father Louis Otieno Pulse Live Kenya

He went on to acknowledge that Otieno might have been an inspiration to a lot of people, but to him, he had been a father who never cared.

“Louis Otieno is many things to many people. I understand that. To me, Louis was a trash father who did not care if I live or died. I was a child. On virtue of that, I deserved better.

“He did everything in his power to punish my mother and me by proxy for needing help. This was all happening at the height of his success; polishing the tires of his car with Kiwi, shaping the political opinions of a fractured nation because he ‘sounded smart’ and wrecking homes by physically and emotionally abusing women. He made it his mission to break, belittle and embarrass my mother,” Silas narrated.

Miami who is based in Amsterderm also disclosed that he has only met his biological dad thrice in his entire life.

Silas Miami speaks on his relationship with father Louis Otieno Silas Miami speaks on his relationship with father Louis Otieno Pulse Live Kenya

“I was not hyperbolic when I said I only met Louis 3 times in my entire life. And while some might hear the number ‘3’ and think that’s plenty for any present father, it should be noted that the first time we met, I was 22… I’m not trying to embarrass him, they are simply the only memories I have of him. These are direct consequences of his actions. I’m merely stating them,” the statement adds.

Silas says that at the age of 22, he got a call from his mother requesting him to visit Louis in hospital and he took a flight to oblige.

“I got a call from my estranged mother to visit my estranged father in the hospital because he was ‘dying’. I jumped on a flight to Nairobi the next day. When I get to his bed, he spends the first two minutes denying that I am not his son,” he said.

The filmmaker clarified that he would not be taking interviews concerning Otieno, terming him a 'stranger'.

“So I take this opportunity to ask everyone to stop asking me about him because you are asking me about a stranger. I know nothing. About the relationship between him and my mother? Nothing, Less than nothing. This man doesn’t know me and I don’t know him," he stated in his letter.

At odds with both parents

Silas Miami has had a rocky relationship with both his parents and in July 2021 he also blasted his mother who had been hospitalized.

“I’m told my abusive mother is very unwell. But this information was relayed to me by a third party because she is too proud to reach out herself. Even at death’s door, she refuses to swallow it and apologize – that is what narcissism looks like. Sending thoughts and prayers,” tweeted Silas Miami.

Silas Miami speaks on his relationship with father Louis Otieno Silas Miami speaks on his relationship with father Louis Otieno Pulse Live Kenya

On the other hand, Louis has also been in and out of hospital and at some point he had lost his hearing ability. Well-wishers joined hands to help him undergo cochlear implant surgery which was successful.

Other than the illness, Otieno has been in court severally trying to prove his innocence in a case linking him to the death of Careen Chepchuma, who was found dead inside her Nairobi house in 2012.

Silas Miami identifies as a queer African filmmaker and has been open about his love life in the past.

“I met and married someone just under a year ago. He’s got all the things, kindness, courage, honesty, but why all this is fine, that is not why I married him,” Miami wrote.