Uhuru eulogises Dalmas Otieno as a towering figure in public service
By Aloys Michael, September 7, 2025Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has paid tribute to the former minister Dalmas Otieno as the champion of public service in Kenya.
In an X statement on Sunday, September 7, 2025, the former Head of State eulogised the late Otieno as a distinguished State official who was committed to serving the citizens.
“It is with deep sorrow that I have learned of the passing of Hon. Dalmas Otieno, a distinguished leader who served his country with dedication and humility. Hon. Otieno was an exemplary statesman whose career in public service spanned decades,” the X post read in part.
Uhuru pointed out Otieno as a kind person and a witty person who always advocated for amity and was geared towards finding solutions as the minister.
“As a Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament, he made immense contributions to our nation’s social and economic development. His calm demeanour, wisdom, and commitment to dialogue set him apart as a leader who always placed Kenya’s unity and progress above all else,” he said.
“To his family, friends, and the people of Rongo and the larger Migori County, I extend my heartfelt condolences. May you find comfort in the knowledge that Hon. Dalmas Otieno’s life was one of purpose, service, and honour.”
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Otieno died on Sunday, September 7, 2025, aged 80 years.
His passing brings down the curtain on a consequential career that spanned more than three decades of Kenya’s turbulent political life, from the one-party era under Daniel arap Moi to the coalition experiments of the 2000s.
Rise to the cabinet
Otieno entered Parliament in 1988 as MP for Rongo. Within months, he was elevated to the Cabinet, where he held influential portfolios including Industrialisation (1988–1991), Labour and Human Resource Development (1991) and Transport (1991–1996).
His tenure coincided with Kenya’s push to open up its economy and modernise state-owned corporations.
After the disputed 2007 elections and the violence that followed, he returned to government as Minister of State for Public Service in the Grand Coalition administration. The docket placed him at the heart of reforms meant to professionalise the civil service and balance the demands of the fragile Kibaki-Odinga power-sharing deal.
One of Otieno’s most enduring contributions was his role in political conciliation. In the 1990s, he chaired the Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group (IPPG) process, which set the rules for the 1997 elections.