When Dalmas Otieno lost his Rongo MP seat to a political novice, Paul Abuor during the 2017 election, the veteran politician’s career was at risk.
After going ‘missing’ for almost one year after that painful defeat that nearly sealed his fate in Nyanza politics, Otieno resurfaced during the funeral of the late Migori Senator Ben Oluoch Okello.
He would later declare his intention to vie for the vacant position. However, getting the ODM ticket to springboard his political ambitions was his biggest challenge.Having had a frosty relationship with the Raila Odinga-led party, he was edged in the battle for that ticket by his longtime rival Ochillo Ayacko.
Left on the edge, the former Minister had to act. He decamped to little-known Liberal Democratic Party in a bid to mount a serious challenge to Ayacko.
With his candidature unsettling the waters within ODM, a major political showdown was looming with Raila lieutenants warning that anyone going against the orange party would be crushed. But he was undeterred.
Then on Wednesday, in what can be likened to the proverbial nine lives of a cat, President Uhuru Kenyatta came to his rescue with a top government job, appointing him a commissioner with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
Whether he tries his luck in politics again come 2022, Otieno 's political journey is not yet over.
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