Raila Odinga, the chief of the Kenyan opposition coalition Azimio la Umoja, in Nairobi on March 28, 2023.
YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
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YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Kenya’s former Prime Minister and veteran opposition chief Raila Odinga has died on the age of 80. Extensively considered one of many nation’s most influential political figures, Odinga formed Kenya’s fashionable democracy over a profession spanning greater than 4 many years.
The Devamatha Hospital in Kerala, India, confirmed his dying after he suffered a cardiac arrest throughout a morning stroll on Wednesday.
Odinga ran for president 5 occasions with out success, together with within the disputed 2007 election that triggered widespread ethnic violence, leaving practically 1,000 folks lifeless.
In a dwell deal with to the nation, Kenya’s President William Ruto, declared seven days of nationwide mourning. He paid tribute to Odinga as “the daddy of our democracy,” and a “big” of Kenyan politics.
“Raila Amolo Odinga was a once-in-a-generation chief — a person whose beliefs rose above politics and whose legacy will proceed to form Kenya’s future,” Ruto stated.
Regardless of by no means attaining the presidency, he was credited with serving to dismantle Kenya’s one-party rule below Daniel arap Moi in 1992 and championing the progressive 2010 structure, which ushered in far-reaching political reforms.
Azimio La Umoja (One Kenya Coalition Social gathering) coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga leaves a polling station in Kibera Main College after casting his vote on August 9, 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Ed Ram/Getty Photographs Europe
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Ed Ram/Getty Photographs Europe
In latest months, Odinga made headlines for signing a political take care of President William Ruto, following weeks of youth-led anti-government protests that left a whole lot lifeless. The transfer divided opinion in Kenya however underscored Odinga’s enduring function as a political energy dealer.
Born in 1945 western Kenya, Odinga commanded a passionate and dependable following throughout the nation — from his residence area to Nairobi’s Kibera, certainly one of Africa’s largest slums, the place his help ran deep.
