Raila Odinga, a towering figure in Kenyan politics who served as prime minister and ran unsuccessfully for the presidency five times, died while on a trip to India. He was 80.
Mr. Odinga played a pivotal role in championing multiparty democracy in the 1990s, after multiple spells in detention without trial. He was a leader both inside and outside government, alternately holding ministerial posts and acting as an opposition figurehead for decades.
As tributes from African leaders poured in, President William Ruto of Kenya announced the death in a televised address and declared seven days of national mourning as well as a state funeral. He described Mr. Odinga as a “colossus of Kenya’s modern politics, an indomitable warrior in our struggle for freedom and prosperity.”
“In his passing, we have lost a patriot of uncommon courage,” he said, and a pan-Africanist “who offered a compelling model of principled politics.”
Mr. Odinga’s death leaves a void in Kenyan politics, given his role as the principal challenger to successive governments. In the short term, it could strengthen the hand of Mr. Ruto, Mr. Odinga’s one-time political nemesis, who faces re-election in 2027.
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