NAIROBI, Kenya (FN) — Raila Odinga, Kenya’s former prime minister and a key figure in the country’s pro-democracy movement, died Wednesday while undergoing medical treatment in India, according to family sources. He was 80.
Odinga collapsed during a morning walk and was rushed to Devamatha Hospital in India, where he suffered a cardiac arrest, hospital officials said. He was declared dead at 9:52 a.m. local time (0422 GMT) after resuscitation efforts failed.
Speculation had swirled in recent weeks about Odinga’s health, but family members and close allies had dismissed reports suggesting he was critically ill.
President William Ruto led national tributes, calling Odinga a “beacon of courage” and “the father of our democracy.”
“Raila Amolo Odinga is truly a once-in-a-generation leader,” Ruto said during a live address. “A man whose ideals transcended politics, and whose legacy will shape the destiny of Kenya for generations to come.”
Ruto declared a seven-day period of national mourning and announced that Odinga would receive a state funeral with full honors. The president also visited Odinga’s family at their home in Nairobi to express condolences to his widow, Ida Odinga, and other relatives.
A delegation led by Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Ida Odinga is expected to travel to India to coordinate the repatriation of the body.
Odinga was a towering figure in Kenyan politics for decades, earning nicknames such as “Baba,” “Agwambo,” and “Tinga” from supporters. He ran for president five times, alleging electoral fraud in each loss, including in 2007, when post-election violence left 1,200 people dead and displaced about 600,000.
A power-sharing agreement brokered by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan ended that crisis, leading to a coalition government in which Odinga served as prime minister from 2008 to 2013.
Odinga’s career was defined by his opposition to one-party rule and advocacy for democratic reforms. He was detained twice by President Daniel arap Moi’s regime — from 1982 to 1988 and again from 1989 to 1991 — and was accused of involvement in a failed coup attempt in 1982, which first propelled him to national prominence.
In 2017, Odinga successfully challenged President Uhuru Kenyatta’s election win in the Supreme Court, which annulled the results and ordered a rerun. He later boycotted the repeat vote, citing a lack of electoral reforms. Despite their rivalry, Odinga and Kenyatta shocked the nation in 2018 with a public reconciliation, known as “the handshake.”
After his most recent electoral defeat in 2022, Odinga joined Ruto in a coalition government, positioning several of his allies in senior roles. The move followed nationwide protests, including the storming of parliament, where dozens of demonstrators were killed during clashes with security forces.
Odinga was most recently backed by the Ruto administration for the position of African Union Commission chair, but lost the vote to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
World leaders offered condolences, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called Odinga a “towering statesman and cherished friend of India.” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described him as “a leader who placed the interests of his country and continent first,” while Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said Odinga’s legacy as a “towering advocate for democracy” would endure.
Odinga, the son of Kenya’s first vice president Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, leaves behind a legacy of defiance, public service, and mass mobilization. He was considered one of the last living symbols of Kenya’s long struggle for multi-party democracy.
Thousands of mourners poured into the streets of Nairobi and western Kenya on Wednesday in grief and remembrance.
Funeral arrangements are expected to be announced in the coming days.
