Kenya’s Veteran Opposition Leader Raila Odinga Dies at 80

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, a source from his office confirmed on Wednesday, October 15. Details surrounding his death have not yet been released.

Indian media outlet Mathrubhumi earlier reported that Odinga, who was receiving medical treatment in Kochi, India, suffered a cardiac arrest on Wednesday. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Odinga was a towering and often divisive figure in Kenyan politics, widely recognized for his role in ushering in two major democratic milestones: the adoption of multiparty democracy in 1991 and the enactment of a new constitution in 2010.

Throughout his long career, he made five unsuccessful bids for the presidency. Two of those elections — in 2007 and 2017 — were marred by disputes that triggered unrest and violence.

The aftermath of the 2007 election was particularly severe, sparking Kenya’s worst political crisis since independence. Roughly 1,300 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced in the ethnic and political clashes that followed.