The first wife of the late Dalmas Otieno left mourners in stitches at Don Bosco Catholic Parish in Upper Hill, Nairobi, on Tuesday when she recalled how she learned her husband had taken another wife and allowed her to move into their home so they could live under one roof.
Patricia Otieno, who married the former Rongo MP in 1965, told mourners she harbored no jealousy, only love and respect for her “handsome, intelligent husband who gave her problems with women but was a true hero.”
Too frail to stand, Ms Otieno read her tribute from her pew, recalling the early days of their romance as head prefects at Rapogi School, her husband’s irresistible charm, and her decision to welcome Ms Dorothy Otieno- the third wife- into their home.
“I told my husband to bring her in, because we had a big house. For 14 years, we lived together under one roof. She respected me, and we could eat together, breakfast, everything,” she said, drawing laughter and admiration from the congregation.
The widow of the late former Cabinet Secretary Dalmas Otieno, Dorothy Otieno(centre), is consoled at Lee Funeral home in Nairobi on September 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Evans Habil| Nation Media Group
Their love endured through hardship. She recalled nights of struggle when Dalmas returned from Makerere University, determined to shoulder the family’s burdens.
She remembered the Italian handbags, perfumes, and luxuries he bought her as his insurance career blossomed, his promise to build a church in Kitweru, and his insistence that she return to school, even completing studies in the United States.
“Mzee was many things: a scholar, a leader, a provider, a visionary. But to me, he was above all a gentle husband and a loving father,” she said. “Rest well, my love. Your legacy will live on in your children, in your grandchildren, and in the institutions you built...I will forever love and cherish you.”
The late Otieno married Patricia in 1966 and thereafter married Jane in 1980. He would later marry Dorothy in 2013. Jane is deceased.
Dorothy, the third wife, also captured mourners’ attention with her own recollection, joking that the former Rongo MP “snatched her from a Ghanaian man, Kofi Annan, who was in the country to broker peace in 2007,” before quipping that he “turned her into dynamite.”
“He asked me who I was, and soon he realised that he knew my father, who used to work as a driver in the Moi government. That is how our story started,” she said.
Their two sons followed with lighter moments, sharing lessons in business and discipline from their father, sparking bursts of laughter that punctuated the solemn ceremony.
The firstborn son of the late Dalmas Otieno, Fred Otien,o addressing journalists at Lee Funeral home in Nairobi on September 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Evans Habil| Nation Media Group
His son, John Okello, said it was difficult to capture the breadth of his father’s achievements.
“To start telling the story of someone who is almost in the top one percent of the most influential Kenyans to ever exist is very difficult,” he said. “He taught me preparation; you could never catch my dad unprepared, because every single time and in everything he did, he was always aware and alert to it.”
The younger brother, Ramogi Otieno, left the audience in stitches as he recalled the business lessons he learned from his late father.
“One time, we were in business class, and I came home and asked him about the topic we had learned that day. He advised me that as long as I stayed loyal, everything would work,” Ramogi said, drawing laughter from mourners.
Political leaders and friends painted Dalmas Otieno as a towering figure in Kenya’s political and economic life, a man of preparation, courage, and independent thinking.
President William Ruto’s advisor Eliud Owalo remembered his discipline, saying, “He would listen whenever someone spoke, and provide solutions. When I visited him after being appointed as a Cabinet minister, he told me to always prepare in advance for Cabinet meetings. That is the only trick of succeeding.”
Former Westlands MP Fred Gumo echoed the same: “At the end of a meeting, he would listen to all of you, then suggest solutions.”
David Murathe, a confidant of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, said Otieno would be remembered for his courage and intellect. “He is the one who told us that all politics is local. We will remember him for his courage and ability to face challenges head-on.”
Otieno’s life was indeed one of shifting political loyalties, pragmatism, and survival. Born in 1945 in South Nyanza, he rose from a career in banking and insurance to become one of Kenya’s most versatile politicians, serving under Presidents Moi, Kibaki, and Uhuru Kenyatta.
He was sacked from Cabinet in 1996 for siding with sugarcane farmers against the government, co-chaired the Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group, and later founded the Kalausi movement to challenge Raila Odinga’s dominance in Luo politics.
Despite political setbacks, he remained relevant, serving as Minister for Public Service in the Grand Coalition government and later as Kenya’s special envoy to South Sudan in 2020.
