Nairobi, Kenya: Raila Odinga, former Kenyan Prime Minister and a perennial presidential candidate, has died at the age of 80. Odinga suffered a heart attack while traveling in India. His death was confirmed by Devamatha Hospital in Kerala, India, where he collapsed during a morning walk and did not respond to resuscitation efforts.
Political legacy and achievements
Odinga recently signed a political pact with Kenyan President William Ruto, allowing his opposition party to participate in key government policymaking and cabinet appointments. Despite multiple attempts, Odinga never became president, running five times over three decades. His closest bid was in 2007, when he narrowly lost to incumbent Mwai Kibaki in a disputed election that sparked widespread ethnic violence.
A member of the Luo ethnic group from Kenya’s Nyanza province, Odinga was a respected figure whose activism helped transition Kenya from single-party rule to a vibrant multiparty democracy.
2007 election and violence
The 2007 election marked the peak of Odinga’s political influence. Winning support from leaders across tribal lines, he drew massive crowds nationwide. However, official results showed Kibaki winning 46% to Odinga’s 44%. Odinga’s camp rejected the results, leading to protests and violent clashes along ethnic lines. Hundreds were killed in the ensuing chaos.
Odinga was not accused of inciting violence, though others, including future presidents Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta, faced charges that were eventually dropped amid allegations of witness intimidation and political interference. Odinga later became Prime Minister in a unity government formed through international mediation.
Early life, activism, and exile
Born on January 7, 1945, in Kisumu, Odinga was the son of Kenya’s first Vice President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. He studied engineering in East Germany and later returned to teach at the University of Nairobi while running businesses, including a liquid petroleum gas company. In the 1980s, he became a political activist against President Daniel arap Moi’s one-party rule.
Linked to a failed 1982 coup attempt, Odinga faced treason accusations, which were later dropped, and endured harsh detention conditions. He briefly went into exile in Europe in 1991 before returning to Kenya in 1992 to serve in the National Assembly as an opposition lawmaker.
Later political career
Odinga launched multiple presidential campaigns starting in 1997, earning a reputation as a persistent candidate. He played a role in the rise of Mwai Kibaki in 2002 and remained active in politics even as he aged. After losing the 2022 presidential race against Ruto, he protested alleged electoral fraud and defended the constitutional right to civil disobedience.
In early 2025, Odinga lost a bid to become the head of the African Union Commission. He is survived by his wife, Ida Odinga.
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