The 25-year-old, making the first defence of his Commonwealth bantamweight title against the Kenyan, made it nine wins in succession as he overcame the early threat of the veteran African.
McDonnell, who would have lost his European strap should things have gone against him, eventually got on top to win by a wide margin.
The action was frenetic in the opening round with Otieno hunting McDonnell down, looking to land with a sharp jab while the home fighter successfully worked the body.
It was clear McDonnell had a fight on his hands in the next as the Kenyan produced some smart combinations, but again the Doncaster fighter proved his worth by answering back in kind with the rangy left hand.
After a messy third that saw neither boxer gain the upper hand, McDonnell sought to dominate with the jab although it lacked the usual snap amid fears that he is starting to have trouble making the weight.
But the champion had his best round in the fifth - a body shot opening up Otieno for a neat combination of blows that had the challenger on the defensive.
By halfway the Englishman appeared to have the African's measure, seemingly able to evade Otieno's aggressive bursts while scoring with heavy rights to the head and body.
McDonnell spent the seventh round on the back foot but the challenger was unable to connect cleanly and it came as no surprise to see the taller man reassert in the next, connecting with a solid right late in the session.
The 25-year-old continued to edge it through the later rounds, the 10th being a particularly good one for the youngster as his opponent found it increasingly difficult to respond to his accurate jabs and straight rights.
McDonnell emerged for the 11th like a man on a mission as he sought to become the first to stop Otieno inside the distance, but despite spending much of the three minutes on the offensive, the durable Kenyan never looked like crying enough.
The champion continued to out-work his opponent and it came as little surprise when the judges scored it 120-108 twice and 118-111 in the Briton's favour.
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