Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, family sources have told the BBC.
Odinga died on Wednesday while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in India. He collapsed during a morning walk and was taken to Devamatha Hospital, which said he had suffered a cardiac arrest. It said he did not respond to resuscitation measures and was “declared dead at 09:52” local time (04:22 GMT).
In recent weeks, there has been speculation about his health, although family members and political allies had dismissed reports suggesting he was critically ill.
President William Ruto paid tribute to Odinga as a “beacon of courage” and “father of our democracy”.
“Raila Amolo Odinga is truly a once-in-a-generation leader. A man whose ideals transcended politics, and whose legacy will shape the destiny of Kenya for generations to come,” Ruto said in a live address to the nation.
A seven-day period of mourning has also been declared. Odinga will be also be accorded a state funeral with full honours, Ruto said.
Other Kenyan politicians and world leaders have been sending their condolences, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described Odinga as a “towering statesman and a cherished friend of India”.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was a “leader who placed the interests of his country and continent first” while Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema described Odinga as “a towering advocate for democracy”, whose legacy would endure.
The Kenyan president had earlier visited Odinga’s family home in Nairobi and expressed his condolences to his widow Ida Odinga and other family members.
A delegation led by Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Odinga’s widow is expected to travel to India to oversee the arrangements to repatriate his body.
Odinga’s supporters have been pouring onto the streets to mourn, especially in his political strongholds of western Kenya and parts of Nairobi.
A political mobiliser and towering figure in Kenyan politics, Odinga ran unsuccessfully for the presidency five times. He rejected the results on each occasion, often saying that victory had been stolen from him.
He was vindicated by Kenya’s highest court after the 2017 elections, when it annulled Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory and ordered fresh polls. However, he boycotted the rerun, demanding electoral reforms.
Odinga later made up with Kenyatta, stunning the nation when the two shook hands in 2018 – ending months of tension.
The disputed election of 2007, in which Odinga claimed he was cheated of victory by Mwai Kibaki, led to the biggest crisis in Kenya’s history.
Violence erupted around the country, resulting in 1,200 deaths and about 600,000 people were forced to flee their homes.
To resolve the crisis, a power-sharing agreement was brokered by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, leading to the formation of a unity government in which Odinga became prime minister.
He has often reconciled with the incumbent president after contentious elections.
After his most recent defeat in 2022, he later joined President Ruto in a so-called broad-based government, which brought several of his allies into key positions.
He defended the move as necessary for national unity, coming in the aftermath of watershed nationwide protests last year that culminated in the storming of parliament. Dozens of protesters were killed in confrontations with security officers.
The Ruto administration backed Odinga’s bid to become chairperson of the African Union Commission, in elections held earlier this year. Despite strong regional support, he lost to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.
Odinga inspired a passionate and loyal following throughout his political career, especially in western Kenya, where he was born.
His supporters called him “Baba” (Father), “Agwambo” (Act of God), and “Tinga” (Tractor) – drawn from his party’s symbol during the 1997 elections.
He was widely regarded as a master strategist and mass mobiliser, often drawing huge crowds to his political rallies, and he had a deep ability to connect with ordinary people.
He will be remembered for his unwavering fight for democratic freedoms and human rights.
He was a former political prisoner, and holds the record for being Kenya’s longest-serving detainee. His struggle against one-party dictatorship saw him detained twice (from 1982 to 1988 and 1989 to 1991) during the rule of Daniel arap Moi.
He was initially imprisoned for trying to stage a coup in 1982, which propelled him on to the national stage.
For most of his political life, Odinga has been seen as symbol of resistance and political reform and his death leaves a vacuum about who can fill his shoes and carry on his legacy.
He is the son of Jaramogi Odinga, Kenya’s first vice-president, who walked out of government after falling out with then-leader Jomo Kenyatta, Uhuru Kenyatta’s father.
