Shem Ochuodho

Shem Ochuodho is a Kenyan politician. He represented Rangwe constituency in Homa-Bay County between 1997 and 2002 and later became a computer consultant. He also serves as the chair of Kenya Diaspora Association.

Professional career

He then worked for the Rwandan government in Kigali as ICT consultant for three years. He was the ICT Advisor to Rwanda’s Minister of State in charge of Energy and Communications and CEO of the Rwanda Information Technology Authority (RITA) Ochuodho was an ICT adviser to the South Sudan government based in Juba. In 2003, Ochuodho was appointed the MD of the Kenya Pipeline Company.

Political career

He was elected to parliament in 1997 on an NDP ticket beating the late Mrs Phelgona Okundi of KANU. He was the founding convener and secretary of the National Alliance(NA), which gave birth to the National Alliance for Change (NAC), that in turn gave rise to the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC). He ran for the Deputy President in the March 2013 Kenyan Presidential election on a Safina party ticket. He was the running mate to Paul Muite.

Rivalry with Raila Odinga

Politically, he is not in good terms with Raila due to his independent-mindedness. Pro-Raila functionaries rigged him out of NARC and ODM primaries in 2002 and 2007 respectively.

Awards

In 2007, Ochuodho was honored with the Kenya Community Abroad (KCA) Award for Excellence for his exemplary efforts in the Information, Communication and Technology industry (ICT).

Publications

He is the author of Dawn of a Rainbow, The Untold Intrigues of Kenya's First Coalition Government (2012).