How Osinde's diplomatic skills kept DP office above fray

Whenever staffers at Deputy President William Ruto’s office had issues, say a conflict or a matter that was likely to degenerate, Ken Osinde was their man to find means of settling it, away from the formal channels.

A persuasive diplomat, Osinde preferred talking out things than escalating them to disciplinary procedures.

He served as Chief of Staff at the DP’s office since October 2016 till he suddenly died on December 10. He was 59 years old and a father of five children.

And even when it was a controversial matter, he would be on the defence but with restraint.

Osinde served as Kenya's ambassador to Germany between 2010 and 2014.

The hallmark of his success in his diplomatic assignment was the establishment of direct flight from Mombasa to Berlin by Air Berlin

For example, when a controversy over the withdrawal of some of the security officers guarding Ruto’s Karen residence emerged in August, his public letter to the Ministry of Interior pulled no punches, but you could only see them if you read it closely.

While subtly complaining about the alleged reorganisation of security, he focused on moving the conversion forward, pushing for not just beefing up the DP’s security but also investigating public utterance that had  adverse implications on Ruto’s security.

“You have refused to act upon reports made to you on the implications of such remarks for the security, safety, and well-being of the Deputy President,” Osinde wrote.

In another occasion in February 2020, when a controversy emerged on alleged fake arms deal at the DP’s Harambee Annex office, his diplomatic skill was at it again; pull no punches given the heated politics at the time but cover them under polite lexicon.

Another instance that put this attribute on display was on November 27 when governors denied him the chance to represent his boss Ruto in closing the Devolution conference in Makueni. 

Ruto was a way campaigning in Nyandarua and had delegated the role to his chief of staff. 

But governors would not let Osinde even plant the tree that was supposed to be planted by Ruto, leaving the hole empty with the tree besides it. 

Former Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa, now Defense CS, stood in instead.

Despite the embarrassing incident, Osinde never spoke up or defended himself or his boss. He let it slide. 

And even in death, his family picked up this approach. There were speculation about the cause of his deal with some commentators alleging foul play.

But his family would put down the speculation in one blow, denying the allegation and asking for space to mourn in private.

According to the family, the former diplomat died from excessive bleeding in his stomach after the hepatic portal vein ruptured. 

"Ken started complaining of stomach pains on the evening of Wednesday, December 7, 2020 and was rushed to the hospital..the doctors diagnosed him with extensive internal bleeding due to rupture of the hepatic portal vein," the family said. 

A surgery to stop the bleeding and save his life was unsuccessful. 

Rupture of hepatic portal vein is often caused by liver cirrhosis and mostly results from destruction of the vital organ by Schistosomiasis. The hepatic vein gets constricted and is not able to accommodate the blood pressure and the build up makes the veins to surge.

The condition is not curable and the patients manages it by getting a yearly banding of the surged vein portion to avoid rupture. 

Once the rupture occurs and internal bleeding into the stomach happens, the patient can vomit blood and get unconscious. It can be tragic if emergency help is not available.  

Prior to 2010, Osinde had a stint in the insurance sector, the last of which was his appointment by Insurance Regulatory Authority to the board of Invesco Assurance where he helped turn around the company. 

Osinde was buried at his Nakuru home in Ngata on Thursday, December 23. 

 

 

-Edited by SKanyara