Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga dies at 80
Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, a source in his office told Reuters on Wednesday. No further details have yet been provided.
Odinga, who had been receiving treatment in the southern Indian city of Kochi, suffered a cardiac arrest on Wednesday and was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
A veteran opposition leader, Odinga ran unsuccessfully for Kenya’s presidency five times. Two of those elections — in 2007 and 2017 — ended in chaos, sparking violence and deep divisions in the country.
Despite his electoral defeats, Odinga is widely credited for his role in Kenya’s democratic evolution. His decades-long activism helped secure two landmark political reforms: the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in 1991 and the adoption of a new constitution in 2010.
Odinga also led nationwide protests after the disputed 2007 election, which triggered Kenya’s worst political violence since independence. More than 1,300 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced during the unrest.
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