New Delhi – Veteran Kenyan opposition leader and former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga has passed away in India, where he had been receiving treatment for a heart-related illness, according to reliable sources.

Odinga, remembered as one of Kenya’s most prominent political figures, contested multiple presidential elections but was repeatedly defeated. He was once appointed Prime Minister following a disputed election, after which he claimed the results had been rigged. Beyond Kenya, Odinga also served as the African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development. In February 2025, he lost the bid for the position of African Union Commission Chairperson, which was won by Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.

Born on 7 January 1945 in Kisumu, Nyanza region, Odinga led the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and remained one of the country’s most influential opposition voices.

He was previously detained for three and a half years without trial for allegedly participating in a failed coup attempt against former President Daniel arap Moi, before later being released.

Raila Odinga ran for the Kenyan presidency four times but never succeeded, consistently alleging electoral fraud without providing conclusive evidence.

In the 1997 presidential election, he finished third. In 2007, he was narrowly defeated in a disputed vote that led to widespread unrest but ultimately resulted in his appointment as Prime Minister in a power-sharing deal.

His third attempt in 2013 ended with a loss to Uhuru Kenyatta, which he accepted after initial protests. In 2017, another disputed election led the Supreme Court to annul the results; however, Odinga boycotted the subsequent re-run, marking the end of his long pursuit of the presidency.

Odinga’s death marks the passing of a defining figure in Kenya’s modern political history – a man whose career embodied decades of struggle, resilience, and reform in the country’s democratic journey.