NEW DELHI (Realist English). Kenyan opposition leader and former prime minister Raila Odinga, one of Africa’s most influential political figures, has died at the age of 80 while receiving medical treatment in India, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Hospital staff at Devamatha Hospital in Kerala said Odinga suffered a heart attack while undergoing treatment. He was pronounced dead shortly after being rushed from a morning walk to a nearby private facility.
“He was rushed to a nearby private hospital but was declared dead,” said Krishnan M, additional superintendent of police in Kerala’s Ernakulam district.
According to local authorities, Odinga was accompanied by his sister, daughter, personal physician, and both Indian and Kenyan security officers when he collapsed.
Kenyan officials and aides in Odinga’s office confirmed the death to international news agencies. Indian newspaper Mathrubhumi earlier reported that Odinga had been receiving care at a clinic in Kochi, in southern India’s Kerala state.
A life of struggle and influence
Born on January 7, 1945, Odinga was the son of Kenya’s first vice president, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and a lifelong advocate of democracy. A member of the Luo ethnic group, he spent eight years in prison and several years in exile for his pro-democracy activism during the one-party era under President Daniel arap Moi.
Odinga first entered parliament in 1992 and went on to run five times for president — in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022 — without ever securing victory. He claimed electoral fraud in four of those contests and led protests after the disputed 2007 election, which descended into the country’s worst political violence since independence, leaving around 1,300 dead and displacing hundreds of thousands.
Despite never winning the presidency, Odinga’s political activism helped shape modern Kenya. He was instrumental in ushering in multiparty democracy in 1991 and a new constitution in 2010, both milestones in the country’s democratic evolution.
In March 2025, Odinga’s opposition coalition Azimio la Umoja reached a power-sharing pact with President William Ruto, allowing his allies to join the cabinet in a bid to stabilize Kenya’s fractious political scene.
Tributes from across Africa
Leaders and public figures across the continent paid tribute to Odinga’s legacy as a reformer and statesman.
“Kenya has lost one of its most formidable leaders who shaped the trajectory of our beloved country. Africa has lost a leading voice in pushing for peace, security and development. The world has lost a great leader,” said David Maraga, former chief justice of Kenya.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also expressed condolences on X (formerly Twitter):
“On behalf of the Government of Ethiopia, I extend my sincere condolences on the passing of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. May he rest in peace.”
Odinga’s death leaves a major vacuum in Kenya’s opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections, marking the end of an era for a man whose political journey mirrored the country’s own struggle for democracy and reform.
