It was a morning of cheers, claps, and laughter as Gor Mahia patron, Eliud Owalo, launched his foundation at a lavish ceremony in Nairobi on Saturday.
Established in 2023 and underlined by the slogan ‘Elevate Lives, Empower Futures’, the Eliud Owalo Foundation aspires to create thriving and empowered communities with focus on five ICT-augmented thematic pillars: climate change and environment, community health and wellness, education and digital inclusion, women economic empowerment, and youth empowerment.
“Every Kenyan deserves to live a healthy, productive, and dignified life. Development is not a privilege, it is a right. However, there are gaps in service delivery which make that a challenge and that is what I hope to change with my foundation,” said Owalo, who is the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Delivery and Government Efficiency in the Executive Office of the President.
Kirinyaga County Governor Anne Waiguru (left) presents a gift pack to Nation Media Group Managing Director and CEO Geoffrey Odundo during the launch of Eliud Owalo Foundation at Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi November 8, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
He described the day as “a defining moment” and stated that his foundation is a “vehicle for empowerment and transformation”.
“We will aim to transform Kenyan communities through meaningful and strategic partnerships," Owalo said.
Owalo also noted that Kenya is struggling with a youth bulge whose potential to be productive is limited by outdated cultural norms, inequitable access to education, and high rates of unemployment.
“We are dealing with a demographic reality that is a ticking time bomb. We have to make this challenge an opportunity the youth in Kenya are not just the future, they are the present,” Owalo stated.
“But a nation which neuters its youth mutes its own future. When youth lack opportunities, frustrations grow, leading to crime, substance abuse, and social unrest. But when youth are empowered, the reverse is the case,” he added.
Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Delivery and Government Efficiency in the Executive Office of the President, Eliud Owalo (right) hands over the Eliud Owalo Foundation Strategic plans to retired footballer Dr ‘JJ’ Masiga during the launch of the foundation in Nairobi on November 8, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
To address those issues through his foundation, Owalo articulated several game changers that can transform Kenya's worrying youth bulge into a national boom. One of those game changers is sports.
“By leveraging sports as a tool for empowerment, the foundation is nurturing healthy, disciplined, and employable young leaders. Sports also serves as a unifying and transformational platform for talent development, mental and physical wellness, peace-building and social cohesion while creating jobs through event management and sports enterprises,” Owalo said.
During the ceremony, Owalo shared the impact that his foundation has made through support of various sporting events and institutions.
“The foundation’s football and basketball tournaments have already produced scholarships and opened doors for playing professionally,” he stated.
Speakers highlighted transformation of Kenyan youth through sports as a key component of the Eliud Owalo Foundation when members of its board of trustees were unveiled.
Four of the 17 trustees are sportspeople. They are former AFC Leopards and Harambee Stars forward Joseph “JJ” Masiga, former Gor Mahia and Harambee Stars player Nahashon Oluoch Lule, former rugby star Humphrey Kayange, and Kenyan basketball legend Ronnie Owino.
The other 13 trustees are: Angela Wamola, Chris Mensah, Esther Koimet, Jude Loveday, Prof Hazel Miseda, Dr Joseph Magutt, Justice Joyce Aluoch, Mary Okello, Amb. Michael Okoth Oyugi, Amb. Peter Nicholas Rateng’ Oginga Ogego, Philip Thigo, Phyllis Wakiaga, and Amb. Raychelle Omamo.
Eliud Owalo hand overs a souvenir to European Ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger during the launch of Eliud Owalo Foundation in Nairobi on November 8, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Also, former footballers Tobias Ocholla and Mickey Weche were named as football advisors in the foundation’s panel of advisors.
The event was attended by the European Union ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger who was the chief guest, and Nation Media Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Odundo. Other guests included Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka, Vihiga Governor Wilber Otichilo, and an array of Owalo’s former cabinet colleagues, politicians, government officials, and business people.
In her remarks, Geiger stated that the foundation “resonates with the European Union’s vision of transforming Kenya’s youth bulge from a challenge to an opportunity”.
Lusaka hailed the occasion as “more than a launch of a foundation but a launching of hope.” “The government cannot do everything,” he said.
Otichilo was brief, terming the occasion “special.” He said the foundation will “transform Kenya”.
