Kenyan opposition leader and veteran politician Raila Odinga has died in India at the age of 80, Indian police confirmed on Wednesday.
According to Krishnan M, Additional Superintendent of Police in Kerala State, Odinga collapsed while on a morning walk in the southern Indian state.
“The death is confirmed,” Krishnan told AFP. “The Kenyan national was on a walk with his sister, daughter, and personal doctor when he suddenly collapsed. An Indian police security officer and a Kenyan security officer were also present. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital but was declared dead.”
A spokesman for the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre in Kerala, where Odinga had been receiving care, also confirmed his death.
“This morning, around 7:45 a.m., Mr. Raila was on his morning walk when he experienced breathing difficulties and collapsed,” the hospital spokesman said. “He was given CPR immediately and showed brief signs of recovery, but despite repeated efforts by doctors, his condition deteriorated, and he could not be saved.”
A member of Odinga’s political team, who requested anonymity pending an official announcement, also confirmed the development to AFP.
Born on January 7, 1945, in Maseno, western Kenya, Raila Amolo Odinga was one of the most influential figures in Kenyan politics. He was a central player in the country’s pro-democracy struggle during the repressive rule of former President Daniel arap Moi, enduring multiple detentions and years in exile.
Odinga entered parliament in 1992 and went on to contest Kenya’s presidency five times — in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022. He consistently claimed to have been denied victory through electoral malpractice, often leading mass opposition movements that shaped Kenya’s democratic evolution.
A member of the Luo ethnic group, Odinga was widely regarded as a symbol of reform politics and a unifying figure among Kenya’s opposition ranks.
He is survived by his wife, Ida Odinga, and their children.
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