Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga dies of heart attack in India at 80

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, ​​a key figure in African politics, has died at the age of 80 during a trip to India for medical treatment, according to local police and hospital officials.

The former prime minister, who as opposition leader had waged five unsuccessful presidential campaigns between 1997 and 2022, had suffered a heart attack, the Devamatha Hospital in the southern Indian state of Kerala confirmed to The Associated Press news agency on Wednesday.
Odinga was a dominant force in Kenyan politics, and his death will leave a significant leadership vacuum within the country’s political opposition ahead of elections in 2027.

An Indian police official told the AFP news agency that Odinga had been on a morning walk, accompanied by his sister, daughter, a personal doctor, and Indian and Kenyan security officers, when he collapsed.

“He was rushed to a nearby private hospital, but was declared dead,” said Krishnan M, additional superintendent of police in Ernakulam, Kerala.

Unnamed officials in Odinga’s office also confirmed the death to news agencies.

Indian newspaper Mathrubhumi had earlier reported the death, adding that Odinga had been undergoing medical treatment in the state’s Kochi city.

As news of the death broke in Kenya, President William Ruto visited the Odinga family home in Nairobi’s wealthy Karen suburb.

Hundreds of the late politician’s supporters, many of them crying and waving twigs to ward off bad omens, also made their way to the the home to pay their respects, the Reuters news agency reported.
The ‘mysterious one’
Odinga’s pro-democracy activism over the years helped drive two of the country’s most significant political reforms: multiparty democracy in 1991 and a new constitution in 2010.

Throughout his political career, Odinga commanded strong support from his base, many of whom called him “Baba”, or “father” in Swahili.

That support endured even when he was accused of exploiting ethnic divisions for political benefit, or striking deals with his political foes – a practice that earned him the nickname “Agwambo”, or “mysterious one”, in the Luo language.

In March, he signed a pact with Ruto that saw his opposition Azimio la Umoja party involved in critical policymaking and its members appointed to the cabinet.

‘A father to the nation’
Leaders from across the world paid tribute to Odinga, describing him as a towering political leader who had left a legacy of democracy in his homeland.

Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who had faced off against Odinga in successive presidential campaigns before backing him for president in 2022, praised the late politician as “a father to the nation, a steadfast champion for the people, and a true son of Kenya”.

“His legacy is not just in the political battles he fought, but in the peace he helped build. It is etched in the very fabric of our nation,” he said.