Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, family sources have told the BBC.
Odinga died on Wednesday while receiving medical treatment
at a hospital in India. He collapsed during a morning walk and was taken to
Devamatha Hospital, which said he had suffered a cardiac arrest. It said he did
not respond to resuscitation measures and was "declared dead at
09:52" local time (04:22 GMT).
In recent weeks, there has been speculation about his
health, although family members and political allies had dismissed reports
suggesting he was critically ill.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta - a long-time rival - said
Odinga's death had "left a silence that echoes across our nation".
Other Kenyan politicians and world leaders have been sending
their condolences, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described
Odinga as a "towering statesman and a cherished friend of India".
His supporters have been pouring onto the streets to mourn,
especially in his political strongholds of western Kenya and parts of Nairobi.
A political mobiliser and towering figure in Kenyan
politics, Odinga ran unsuccessfully for the presidency five times. He rejected
the results on each occasion, often saying that victory had been stolen from
him.
He was vindicated by Kenya's highest court after the 2017
elections, when it annulled Uhuru Kenyatta's victory and ordered fresh polls.
However, he boycotted the rerun, demanding electoral reforms.
The disputed election of 2007, in which Odinga claimed he
was cheated of victory by Mwai Kibaki, led to the biggest crisis in Kenya's
history.
Violence erupted around the country, resulting in 1,200
deaths and about 600,000 people were forced to flee their homes.
To resolve the crisis, a power-sharing agreement was
brokered by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, leading to the formation of
a unity government in which Odinga became prime minister.
He has often reconciled with the incumbent president after
contentious elections.
After his most recent defeat in 2022, he later joined
President William Ruto in a so-called broad-based government, which brought
several of his allies into key positions.
He defended the move as necessary for national unity, coming
in the aftermath of watershed nationwide protests last year that culminated
in the storming of parliament. Dozens of protesters were killed in
confrontations with security officers.
The Ruto administration backed Odinga's bid to become
chairperson of the African Union Commission, in elections held earlier this
year. Despite strong regional support, he lost to Djibouti's Mahmoud Ali
Youssouf.
Odinga inspired a passionate and loyal following throughout
his political career, especially in western Kenya, where he was from.
His supporters called him "Baba" (Father),
"Agwambo" (Act of God), and "Tinga" (Tractor) - drawn from
his party's symbol during the 1997 elections.
He was widely regarded as a master strategist and mass
mobiliser, often drawing huge crowds to his political rallies, and he had a
deep ability to connect with ordinary people.
He will be remembered for his unwavering fight for
democratic freedoms and human rights.
He was a former political prisoner, and holds the record for
being Kenya's longest-serving detainee. His struggle against one-party
dictatorship saw him detained twice (from 1982 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991) during
the rule of Daniel arap Moi.
He was initially imprisoned for trying to stage a coup in
1982, which propelled him on to the national stage.
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