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Cast mourns Olwenya Maina who died days before release of Netflix series [Video]

Fellow actors recall reuniting with Olwenya Maina to shoot the first Kenyan series on Netflix set to launch in July

Cast mourn Olwenya Maina who died days before release of Netflix film he starred in

As the county continues to mourn the sudden death of celebrated actor Maina Olwenya, it has now emerged that he had featured in the first Kenyan Netflix series; Country Queen.

In the upcoming ‘Country Queen’ series scheduled for a Netflix July 15, 2022 release, Maina plays a journalist and interacts a lot with the character on Nini Wacera on the show.

In the series, he reunited with fellow actors Nini Wacera and Shix Kapienga who appeared alongside Olwenya in Nairobi Half Life.

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While paying tribute to Maina, Wacera recalled that he was a talented actor who was excellent at portraying his roles.

I was also in Nairobi Half Life and we did that scene with him and that was a very powerful scene. One of the things about working with him, Maina was a talented actor but also a very troubled soul and that gave him such depth as a creator and actor within this industry.

It gave him such magic, he was always very authentic and he was always very real so when you knew you were playing a scene with Olwenya Maina you knew you were really coming to play,” Wacera eulogised.

She added that it was heartbreaking to lose the actor at such a young age of 34.

Country Queen Director Vincent Mbaya said it was important to celebrate Olwenya’s life now that he did not get to see the launch of the upcoming movie.

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I think we really need to celebrate him and the fact that he was on Country Queen and this is happening just before we launch, I think it's important we celebrate who he was as an actor and what he brought,” Mbaya stated.

Country Queen main character Melvin Alusa described Olwenya as a friend and younger brother to him.

He also expressed how he enjoyed sharing a stage with the deceased who played a journalist in the film.

He did a spectacular job as a journalist so he has left behind a sad community but I would like to celebrate the committed loyal friend he was and the amazing performer. I salute him even as he proceeds to eternity,” Alusa mourned.

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Country Queen is a family drama that tells the story of ordinary Kenyans fighting against a corporate power that threatens to destroy their homes and lives.

The series focuses on the issues of land grabbing and exploitation and how these factors impact the lives and relationships of the main characters their families and communities.

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