At the requiem mass of former Cabinet minister Dalmas Otieno, his two wives moved mourners with heartfelt and at times humorous tributes that revealed the man behind the politician.
Dorothy Otieno, the younger of the two, drew laughter when she recounted how Dalmas grew insecure over her friendship with former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan during the 2007 post-election peace talks.
“I was only 19 when I started working at the Jaramogi Foundation. In 2007, I was talking to Kofi Annan, my friend at the time, when mzee saw me. We used to share a cup of tea with Kofi Annan. One day he asked me, ‘Where do you want to go with this man?’” she said, her mischievous smile disarming mourners.
Dalmas, she recalled, eventually persuaded her not to move to Ghana as she had intended.
“That was the end of my story with the Ghanaians, and the beginning of my life with Dalmas,” she said, drawing chuckles.
With warmth and candour, Dorothy admitted she sometimes wondered why Dalmas had chosen her over her best friend Lavender, whom she considered more refined and diplomatic. But she credited him with shaping her life.
“Though I was very naïve when I met him, Dalmas turned me into dynamite,” she said, her voice breaking as she thanked him for everything he taught her.
Patricia Atieno, Dalmas’s first wife, also spoke tenderly of their bond, taking mourners back to 1965 when their romance began at Rapogi Secondary School, where both served as head prefects.
She remembered him as protective, stubborn, yet deeply caring.
“That time I was very beautiful. You know, with Luos, a woman with a gap between her teeth is considered the most beautiful woman. When we were leading the students to church, he would allow me to go first, and I would wonder, Who is this tall, handsome guy?” she reminisced.
In their tributes, the two women painted an intimate portrait of Dalmas that stripped away the trappings of politics and revealed the man who inspired loyalty, affection, and laughter within his home.
He leaves behind Patricia and Dorothy, 14 children, and a political legacy.