Raila Odinga, the veteran Kenyan opposition leader who ran for the presidency five times, has died aged 80 in India. He suffered a cardiac arrest during a morning walk in the southern city of Kochi, where he was receiving treatment, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Kenya's president, William Ruto, described Odinga as “a once-in-a-generation leader”, “a giant of democracy” and “a tireless warrior of good governance”. Ruto declared seven national days of mourning and said Odinga would be accorded a state funeral.
Odinga, a son of Kenya's first vice-president, Oginga Odinga, was charged with treason in 1982 in connection with a coup against the then president, Daniel arap Moi, and detained without trial for six years. He was arrested many times during Moi's administration for opposing one-party rule. His activism helped achieve two landmark reforms: the move to multiparty democracy in 1991 and the enactment of a new constitution in 2010.
Odinga became an MP in 1992 and remained a central figure in Kenyan politics for decades. His narrow loss to Mwai Kibaki in the disputed 2007 election triggered unrest that killed about 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. He became prime minister in 2008 as part of a national unity government headed by Kibaki to end the bloodshed. His most recent presidential run was in 2022.
Supporters called Odinga “Baba” – Swahili for “father” – and he drew huge crowds at rallies. Hundreds of supporters in the Nairobi neighbourhood of Kibera, where he was MP, processed to his home in Karen following news of his death. Tributes came from leaders including former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, former chief justice David Maraga, African Union Commission chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed and Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan.
