Okiya Omtatah has become a ubiquitous public figure. He has been making headlines for his public interest litigation, handling over 1,000 cases against individuals and institutions. His work propelled him to clinch the Busia County Senator seat. Riding on the Gen Z protests wave, Omtatah recently announced his intention to run for president in 2027 through a Gazette notice. The senator announced a 10-member Presidential Exploratory Committee to assess the feasibility of his candidacy for the general elections.

Omtatah first vied for the Busia senatorial seat in 2017 on a Ford-Kenya ticket but lost to the Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) Amos Wako, a former long-serving Attorney General of Kenya. He was elected in the 2022 general elections under the National Reconstruction Alliance after defeating Hillary Itela of ODM.

 After gaining admission to the University of Nairobi to study Commerce, Omtatah deferred and joined St. Augustine Mabanga in Bungoma, where he obtained a Diploma in Philosophy. His dream of becoming a priest was disrupted after he fell ill with epilepsy, which disqualified him from priesthood. Due to his public interest litigation, lawyer Dudley Ochiel tried to have him admitted as an honorary member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) but was unsuccessful due to backlash from members.

In the current Parliament, Omtatah serves on the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights, the Committee on Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism, and the County Public Accounts Committee.