Lupita Nyong’s father, Sen. Peter Nyong’o of Kenya has experienced real-life brutality and torture under the hands of Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi, the MailOnline reports. As an opponent of the former leader, the father of the Oscar-winning actress was tortured repeatedly while her uncle, Charles Nyong’o, was never found after being attacked on board a ferry. Ms. Nyong’o’s uncle was reportedly hurled off the ship.

“We were put into prison and the torture chambers by the regime, but it was like a dinner party when you compare to what slaves went through,” the Kenyan politician told The Independent on Sunday.

Miss Nyong’o won critical claim and worldwide renown for her performance as Patsey in Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave.” Her character in the movie appeared in some of the most shocking scenes and her family were also victims of harassment, violence and even murder.

Peter Nyong’o, who now serves in the Senate in Kenya, revealed the true extent of the family’s brutal treatment, which led to them having to flee to Mexico where Lupita was born in March 1983.

The senator said he had struggled to watch his daughter’s acting triumph, but also said that his own experiences pale in comparison to Solomon Northup, which was played in the historical drama by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor

According to the Daily Mail, Mr. Nyong’o said that his brother Charles had vanished in 1980, two years after Mr. Moi came into power, and at a time which Mr. Nyong’o described as being politically “difficult.”

The body was never recovered and no one has ever been brought to justice because of the killing.

“Even now, no information has come to light. I know he was on a ferry in Mombasa and witnesses who I managed to talk to told me clearly that it was not an accident and he had been attacked and pushed off the ferry. But the witnesses were too terrified to testify to the police,” he said, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Lupita Nyong’o’s father said that he had spoken to members of the Kenyan Special Branch and although he was told by one that they knew what happened, the forces were unwilling to assist them.

The Kenyan leader is Secretary-General of Kenya’s Orange Democratic Movement and has been the Kenyan Minister for Medical Services since 2008. He said he believes his brother was attacked because of his own opposition to Moi’s rule.

Many investigators believe that Moi and his allies plundered more than £3 billion from Kenya’s coffers during his 24-year rule, and he was known to have used the country’s security services to kill and torture critics of his regime.

The politician Nyong’o and wife Dorothy were forced to leave Kenya for Mexico, where he found work at El Colegio de México as a visiting lecturer in political science, and where his daughter Lupita was born.

On the family’s return to Kenya in 1987, they had to go into hiding and at a number of safe houses because Mr. Nyong’o, who was trying to set up an underground democratic party at that time, became a victim of harassment and arrest.

As a young girl, the soon-to-be actress Lupita, and her five brothers and sisters move from place to place. Her father was often taken into police custody on a weekly basis, while the rest of the family were victims of threatening phone calls.