By Nkiruka Nnorom, with agency report
Former Kenyan Prime Minister and perennial presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, died in an Indian hospital yesterday, aged 80.
His death was confirmed by the Devamatha Hospital in India’s Kerala State, where he was taken after he collapsed during a morning walk.
A statement from the hospital said Odinga suffered a cardiac arrest and didn’t respond to resuscitation efforts.
Meanwhile, Kenyan President, William Ruto, has announced seven days of national mourning and a state funeral for the opposition leader.
Ruto described him as “Kenya’s foremost statesman and one of Africa’s greatest sons… a giant of democracy, a fearless freedom fighter and a tireless warrior of good governance.”
The president said he would postpone all his public engagements in the coming days “as a mark of respect.”
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said on the social platform X that he was saddened by the death of Odinga, describing him as “a towering statesman.”
Odinga had recently signed a political pact with Ruto that saw his opposition party involved in government policy-making and its members appointed to the cabinet.
But his ambition was to become Kenya’s president and he ran five times over three decades — sometimes with enough support that many believed he might win.
The closest he came to taking the presidency was in 2007, when he narrowly lost to incumbent, Mwai Kibaki, in a disputed election marred by ethnic violence.
Although he never succeeded, for many, he was a revered figure and statesman whose activism helped steer Kenya away from single-party rule and into vibrant multiparty democracy.
Odinga, a member of the Luo ethnic group in Kenya’s western Nyanza province, reached the peak of his political career in the 2007 presidential race, winning the support of kingpin leaders from other tribes who merged around him and drawing massive crowds during campaign events across Kenya.
Although Kibaki, of the Kikuyu ethnic group, had posted good economic figures in his first term, his government had been weakened by corruption scandals. The official results — Odinga’s 44% against Kibaki’s 46% — was the closest in Kenyan history.
Raila Amolo Odinga was born on Jan. 7, 1945, in Kisumu, a city on the shores of Lake Victoria near the border with Uganda.
Tinubu extends condolences to Kenya
Reacting to Odinga’s death yesterday, President Bola Tinubu extended his condolences to the government and people of the Republic of Kenya over his passing.
The President said the former prime minister’s courage in the face of adversity, his resilience in pursuing electoral reforms, and his unwavering belief in the people’s power would remain sources of inspiration for generations to come.
He said: “His legacy will endure in the institutions he helped to shape and the democratic ideals he championed. We mourn with Kenya in this moment of national grief and stand in solidarity with you, President William Ruto, as you lead your nation through this painful chapter.
“May the memory of Raila Odinga continue to guide Kenya towards peace, unity, and progress.’’
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