Why Dalmas Otieno’s youth empowerment agenda rocks

By Peter Kimani

Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno is a politician of solid credentials – his shock of black hair is testament to his long stint in public service.

That’s where men enhance their youthfulness with the passage of time. So when Otieno announced that he had recently taken a third wife, Dorothy Okello, 30, he had a very persuasive explanation to offer.

He said he married the youth to access her peers in propagating the youth development agenda.

This is truly refreshing, an affirmation that solutions to our endemic problems can always be found if we think outside the box.

Although Okello is a Homa Bay County executive, her marriage to Otieno will no doubt give her additional leverage, which means Otieno’s prescription is the quintessential youth empowerment.

What’s unclear at this stage is if Otieno’s other wives were consulted over the matter, or if at all they conform to their husband’s milieu of mixing business with pleasure.

While there is no doubt that the wives’ support for Otieno in politics is unqualified, they would probably be more supportive if his “wifey” strategies achieves the positive outcome of bagging a political seat and bringing a spouse home.

There are additional benefits to Otieno’s approach; he would essentially be serving his constituents day and night, quite literally, since any time spent at home with his youthful wife would rightly pass for consultative sessions where private ideas are harnessed for public good.

If other politicians have not considered it, they should try Otieno’s model and see if youthful wives will deepen their understanding of their largely youthful constituents.