Abdullah

"Good. That skin will bring me much money."

- Abdullah

Abdullah is the secondary antagonist of Disney's 1989 live action film, Cheetah. He is a murderous poacher who is hired by an unscrupulous storekeeper named Mr. Patel and an opportunistic Englishman named Nigel to make Duma race against greyhounds and bet on her to lose.

He is portrayed by Paul Onsongo, who would go on to play Sidi Bombay from the 1990 film Mountains of the Moon.

Personality
Abdullah is shown to be sneaky, cunning, greedy, arrogant, abusive, traitorous, argumentative, opprobrious, and cruel. He is very savage, murderous, bloodthirsty, and sanguinary, so he loves to hunt and poach animals for sport.

Appearance
Abdullah is a medium-sized man with a black beard and wears a green shirt, black pants, and a black coat with a white scarf.

History
As Ted, Susan and Morogo come across a cheetah cub whose mother has been killed by a poacher, Susan insists they take the cub home and talk their parents into letting them raise it.

Meanwhile, Patel and Nigel hire Abdullah to kidnap Duma. Patel explains that cheetahs are sprinters, not distance runners. He plans to make the race just long enough that the cheetah will run out of steam. Unlike all the other gamblers, he will bet on the dogs and make a fortune. The night before Ted and Susan are to leave Africa, the trio break into the house, steal Ted’s whistle, and use it to lure Duma away.

After a tearful goodbye with Morogo, the family stops at Patel’s store to get gasoline. Patel sees the tears in Susan’s eyes and asks if she is crying over losing her pet. Ted realizes Patel could not know about Duma’s disappearance and then notices that Abdullah is wearing shoes made from old tires, just like the tracks they found around Duma’s mother’s corpse. Ted tries to convince his parents that Patel kidnapped Duma, but they insist the animal is out “exploring.”

Across the Great Rift, the children find Abdullah’s camp protected by a high fence and trip wires. They wait for nightfall before sneaking in. Along with a stack of fliers advertising Duma’s race against the greyhounds, they find cheetah skins drying on the walls. Hearing Duma’s whimpers, they enter a barn and find him locked in a cage. Susan and Ted go into a cabin looking for something to break the lock and are jumped by Abdullah. Nigel and Patel arrive and the three men argue over what to do with them. Abdullah wants to kill them, but Nigel suggests they lock them in the cage until after the race. When the men drive away with Duma, Morogo comes out of hiding. Susan, who was watching the trio, gives him the combination to unlock the cage.

The children reach the racetrack in time to hear the cheetah-greyhound race being announced. Patel crows to Nigel that he has bet a fortune that Duma will lose. Duma takes an early lead in the race, but as the race progresses the greyhounds catch up, then pass the cat. Ted grabs a policeman’s whistle and blows. Hearing the whistle, Duma gets a second wind and wins by five lengths. The parents arrive just as Duma attacks Abdullah, and Earl pulls the cheetah off him. As both sets of parents berate their children for being irresponsible, the poacher is arrested.

Quotes
"She's ours!"

- Abdullah as he captures Duma

"Well, cheetah... you got some more work to do today. Are you going to be a naughty girl?"

- Abdullah to Duma

"The first lesson she must learn is that there is no escape. Then we will train her to race. (Mr. Patel: But we need to know exactly how far she can run before tiring.) Yes, yes. We have an odometer. (Mr. Patel: She may resist.) She must learn that she's powerless and we are powerful. Let's begin now."

- Abdullah before training Duma

"That's the point! If she's angry and she's hungry, then she chases the rabbit better. Like some food, cat? Too bad. You gotta earn it."

- Abdullah arguing with Mr. Patel and teasing Duma with a bowl of meat "Come here, cat."

- Abdullah after Duma fails the next test

"I must get my tools!"

- Abdullah getting his tools before they go to Nairobi

Trivia

 * Abdullah is very similar to Sloan and Bree Blackburn from The Wild Thornberrys Movie. Both are poachers who kidnap a cheetah and get arrested at the end.
 * "Abdullah" is an Arabic name for "Servant of God".
 * His name is also given to one of Buldeo's men in the 1989 anime series Jungle Book: Shonen Mowgli.