Monday, September 8,
2025 - As Kenya mourns the death of former Rongo MP and Cabinet Minister
Dalmas Otieno, a wave of grief has resurfaced, not just for the veteran
politician, but for the heartbreaking loss that marked his family nearly two
decades ago.
In May 2008, Otieno and his family were struck by tragedy
when his only son, Isaiah Otieno, was killed in a freak helicopter crash in
Cranbrook, British Columbia.
Isaiah, just 23, was walking to the post office when the BC
Hydro-chartered chopper fell from the sky, claiming his life and those of three
others onboard.
The incident shocked both Canada and Kenya, and left the
Otieno family shattered.
At the time, Otieno was Kenya’s Minister for Public Service.
He flew to Canada with his wife and the Kenyan High
Commissioner to mourn their son.
Speaking at a memorial at the College of the Rockies, where
Isaiah had been studying, he described the loss as “the end of a future and a
cultural bridge,” a grief too deep for words.
Despite continuing his political journey - including roles
as Minister for Industrialisation and long-serving MP for Rongo - Otieno rarely
spoke of Isaiah’s death.
It was a private ache that lingered beneath his public
persona.
Following his passing, tributes poured in from President
William Ruto, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, and ODM leader Raila Odinga,
all honoring Otieno’s integrity, vision, and service.
But for those who knew his story, his strength lay not only
in leadership - but in enduring unimaginable loss with grace.
His death closes a chapter, but the memory of both father
and son endures.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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