{"id":15727,"date":"2025-10-15T08:48:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T08:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=15727"},"modified":"2025-10-15T08:58:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T08:58:42","slug":"the-life-and-times-of-kenyas-former-prime-minister-raila-odinga-dead-at-80-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/the-life-and-times-of-kenyas-former-prime-minister-raila-odinga-dead-at-80-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"The Life And Times Of Kenya’s Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga Dead At 80 In India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga<\/a> has died at the age of 80 in india where he was undergoing treatment .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indian newspaper Mathrubhumi earlier reported that Odinga, who was undergoing treatment in the southern Indian city of Kochi, suffered a cardiac arrest on Wednesday and was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indian police told the media that he was walking with family members and a personal doctor “when he suddenly collapsed”. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In recent weeks, there has been speculation about his health, although family members and political allies had dismissed reports suggesting he was critically ill. Politicians and other leaders, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, have been sending their condolences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The life and times of Raila Odinga the longest detained opposition politician in Kenya ‘s political history <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violence erupted around the country, resulting in 1,200 deaths and about 600,000 people were forced to flee their homes following running bloody-running battles across independent Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He has often reconciled with the incumbent president after contentious elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After his most recent defeat in 2022, he later joined President William Ruto in a so-called broad-based government, which brought several of his allies into key positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>. Dozens of protesters were killed in confrontations with security officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odinga inspired a passionate and loyal following throughout his political career, especially in western Kenya, where he was from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His supporters called him “Baba” (Father), “Agwambo” (Act of God), and “Tinga” (Tractor) – drawn from his party’s symbol during the 1997 elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will be remembered for his unwavering fight for democratic freedoms and human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was initially imprisoned for trying to stage a coup in 1982, which propelled him on to the national stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His work as a democracy activist over the years helped seal two of the country\u2019s most important reforms: multiparty democracy in 1991 and a new constitution in 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor:msserwanga@gmail.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80 in india where he was undergoing treatment . Indian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[419],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tribute-to-a-great-man"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/f47bf560-a98e-11f0-8cc1-273230b15f0b.jpg.webp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15762,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/president-museveni-buganda-kingdom-mourn-former-kenyan-prime-minister-raila-odinga\/","url_meta":{"origin":15727,"position":0},"title":"President Museveni , Buganda Kingdom Mourn Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has paid tribute to the late Raila Amolo Odinga, the former Prime Minister of Kenya, saying he was a freedom fighter and a strong voice for Pan-Africanism. 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Raila Amollo Odinga, a bound Hansard capturing the parliamentary contributions of the opposition leader and Kenya\u2019s second Prime Minister.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/weta.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/weta.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/weta.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/weta.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/weta.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11563,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/president-museveni-meets-kenyas-president-ruto-and-his-archrival-former-prime-minister-odinga\/","url_meta":{"origin":15727,"position":3},"title":"President Museveni Meets Kenya\u2019s President Ruto And His Archrival Former Prime Minister Odinga","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"February 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Agrees to back Odinga\u2019s candidacy for the Chairmanship of the African Union Commission (AUC) President Yoweri Museveni has met Kenya\u2019s two political rivals President William Ruto and \u00a0former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga at his Kisozi country home . 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