Veteran politician and former minister Joseph Otiende has passed away while receiving treatment at Avenue Hospital in Kisumu, according to his son, Maleya Chanzu. He was 100 years old.
Otiende died at 4:30 am on Wednesday, March 8, after being admitted to the hospital two months prior.
He was the only surviving member of the first Cabinet after Kenya's independence and held various ministerial positions, including Minister for Education, Agriculture, Culture, Health, and Housing.
Prior to his death, Otiende received visits from opposition leaders, including Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetangula, and CORD leader Raila Odinga, accompanied by former National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende.
Background ¶
Otiende was also the first minister for Education after independence. The Otiende estate in Langa'ta, Nairobi, was named after him. He left politics after being defeated in the 1969 elections and lived a quiet life in his village in Vihiga.
The recovered account cited reporting by Tuko.
