Daniel Owira alias Otonglo first hit the headlines during the 2013 annual Kenya Schools, Colleges and Universities Drama Festivals winners concert held at State House, Mombasa. Owira, who was then a Form two student at Highway Secondary school, presented a narrative titled ‘Otonglo Time’ which left former President Uhuru Kenyatta in stitches. Uhuru would ‘adopted’ him as his son and went on to cover his school fees and living expenses.
But where is he now several years later? WoK highlights his journey and what he is up to.
Daniel Owira
Thanks to his epic performance, Daniel received a scholarship from the Kenyatta Trust which covered his education all the way to University. His life and that of his family completely changed. Daniel’s mother Rose Owiyo, moved from Mukuru slums to the middle-class Tassia Estate where she lived until she moved back to her village home in Siaya County. Owira sat for his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams in 2015 where he scored a mean grade of C+. He would then join Multimedia University where he graduated on 18th December 2020 with a degree in Journalism and Media Studies specializing in Film and Animation.
Career Journey
After completing his studies, one would think that since he was connected to Uhuru he would immediately get a top job. This, however, was not the case. Unlike when he was in campus where the Kenyatta Trust used to give him a monthly stipend and support his mother’s fish business, after graduating the support ceased to stream in. During a past interview that aired on NTV, Owira revealed that he did not have access to State House like most people perceived and refuted claims that he got an internship at CNN.
“If I was in a position to get my father’s (Uhuru Kenyatta’s) audience almost every day, I think I could have been overwhelming him with a lot of things that Kenyans sit me down and tell me,” he told Comedian Dr. King’ori during the Wicked Edition show.
Owira began his career as an intern at Oakwood Brand Consulting working as a digital content producer for 5 months. He would then join President Uhuru’s Delivery Unit where he was in charge of Information Communications.
Water Projects
In February 2022, Daniel Owira came out to talk about his water projects spread across the country.
“Since Monday we have been traversing the counties all through Kenya and we have started from Kirinyaga we went all the way to Embu, Tharaka Nithi, Meru then we made an about turn to Nanyuki, Laikipia, Nyahururu and Nyandarua. Right now we are actually in Aberdares. We came to Kitale to check out a water source project. The water projects help the farmer to access water and to irrigate their farms. It has been amazing,” he explained.
