Former Rongo Member of Parliament and Minister for Industrialisation, Dalmas Otieno Anyango, is dead.
The former legislator died on Sunday at the age of 80. It is, however, not yet clear what led to his death.
His son, Eddie Otieno, confirmed that the former Rongo Member of Parliament died at his residence in Kileleshwa, Nairobi.
Mourning his death, the Deputy Chief of Staff Eliud Owalo described the former MP as an exceptionally brilliant and composed leader.
Owalo further noted that the death of Otieno has robbed Kenya of a leader who greatly shaped the nation’s socio-economic ecosystem.
"I first knew Dalmas during my university student days and later developed a close working relationship with him that spanned over three decades. Most recently, we collaborated on the conceptualisation of the Nyanza International Investment Conference," Owalo stated.
"Dalmas was an exceptionally brilliant and composed leader – articulate, visionary, and a shrewd businessman with an unwavering passion for socio-economic development. He was also a pioneer entrepreneur in both the insurance and banking sectors," he added.
Otieno was first elected as the Rongo Member of Parliament for Rongo in 1988, and later served as a Minister for Industrialisation from 1988-1991.
He then transitioned to Minister of Labour and Human Resource Development in 1991, and later that year, he served as a minister for Transport and Communications.
In 2007, Anyango joined the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), where he reclaimed his Rongo seat and was later appointed Minister of State for Public Service in Kenya's coalition government.
Otieno was reelected as the Rongo MP in 2013; however, in 2017, he lost the elections after he decamped from ODM and decided to run for the seat as an independent candidate.
In 2018, the former MP was appointed as the Vice Chairperson of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), a position he held until 2024.
