Former Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, has passed away at the age of 80, according to a source from his office who confirmed the news on Wednesday, October 15. Details surrounding his death are yet to be fully disclosed.
Indian news outlet Mathrubhumi earlier reported that Odinga, who had been receiving medical treatment in the southern Indian city of Kochi, suffered a cardiac arrest on Wednesday. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Raila Odinga, a towering and often polarizing figure in Kenyan politics, was a tireless champion of democracy. His activism played a pivotal role in two defining moments in Kenya’s political history — the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in 1991 and the adoption of a new constitution in 2010.
Despite his immense influence, Odinga’s political journey was marked by a series of hard-fought but unsuccessful presidential bids. He contested five times for Kenya’s top office, with the disputed elections of 2007 and 2017 sparking nationwide unrest.
The 2007 post-election violence was particularly severe, becoming the country’s deadliest political crisis since independence. The unrest claimed the lives of more than 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
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